I woke up the other morning and was not ready to jump out of bed and start the "getting ready" dance to go to work... so, instead, I lifted my phone and decided to clear all my notifications. A FB notification was happily staring at me, so I clicked and immediately saw a video pop up that I had never seen before.
The video showcased a park view with a young lady sitting at a piano and for some reason, I was intrigued. The song title was "like my father". I had never heard this song before, and the singers name, Jax, didn't ring any bells in my head. The video begins and the first verses state:
I wanna come home to roses,
And dirty little notes on post-its.
And I was like a fish staring at a baited hook; I bit. The song continues to tell a story of this artist's parents and their silliness, but mostly, their forever love that shined for her to grow up with. Now, Jax wants to have a partner that loves her like her father loves her mother.
The longer I listened, the more tears fell down my cheeks. I couldn't make the downpour stop. I was thinking about what I saw growing up, what my children had seen, and what they could have seen instead. I wish they had seen what I have now instead of what I had then. The music video showcases real video footage of her parents lives together. Me weeping this early in the morning led me down a rabbit hole. I wanted to know more about this singer who had touched my heart strings.
Jaclyn Miskanic, Jax, is currently 29, from New Jersey, and was a contestant on American Idol season 14. I watched the video of her letting her parents hear the "like my father" song for the first time and I cried a bit more. My research then continued, and I found that at 20 years old, Jax battled cancer- 18 tumors on her thyroid and also was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease.
I wanted to hear more of her work and that's when I realized I had loved her music for years now and didn't know it! She had a hit song called "Victoria's Secret" which I had heard at random one day, laughed really hard, and enjoyed the lyrical jabs the singer provided. The song hit home with me as it discusses how people are expected to uphold unrealistic body standards given to us by social media and businesses.
Then I heard another song that I had loved years ago that threw me back into my childhood, "90s kids". This song reminded me of walking through the halls in Junior High and where I first saw the love of my life (before I knew he was the love of my life). It talks about random things that were a part of our lives then that are happy memories for me.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I then went into full on binge mode. I needed to hear more and see what this artist had to offer. So many songs, some filled with silliness and love; others had pain, betrayal, and hurt. I was mesmerized. The fact that this artist presented topics in an open, honest way that many people refuse to discuss or even think about, presented a whole new world for me that day.
I love that she promotes being yourself in a world filled with sheep, I love the sound of her voice, and I love that she is relatable and writes her own lyrics. Lastly, I love the fact that she made me cry and reminded me to show even more appreciation and affection to my wonderful man that day. Thanks Jax!
Some Links You May Enjoy:
Her parents listening to the song about them
Join me in my random tracks collection:
Artist: Jax, Jaclyn Miskanic
Media Types: Currently her albums are only on stream platforms, but I'm excited to have her music on vinyl, cassette and CDs in the future- crossing my fingers!
Newest Album: Dear Joe,
Written By: Rebekah
Music is absolutely incredible. It can evoke all kinds of emotions through a variety of ways. For me, the content and meaning of lyrics that I connect with always amplifies the overall emotional impact of what I am listening to.