Swedish soul singer Janice unveils the tender new single 'Don't Lay It All On Me', out September 30th through PIAS
After recently releasing her single ‘Make Me Feel’ in April this year, Grammis nominated (the Swedish Grammy awards) Swedish soul singer Janice returns once again to deliver the warm and tender new offering ‘Don’t Lay It All On Me’.
Lifted from the forthcoming Netflix series ‘The Playlist’, a fictional series set around the origins of Spotify in which Janice also makes her acting debut, ‘Don’t Lay It All On Me’ marks another wonderfully riveting addition to her ever-growing catalogue to date. With her sweet and soaring vocals layered amongst a humbled-played piano, this new offering is another powerful reminder of her shimmering talent and compelling persona.
“‘Don't Lay It All On Me’ is about setting your own boundaries and allowing time and space from relationships that pressured you to give you perspective and find peace.” explains Janice.
The new track will also form part of a four-track EP exclusively written for ‘The Playlist’, where she plays one of the leading characters Bobbie T, with three of the original works appearing in the series.
Speaking about her work on the show, she said, "It’s an absolute dream come true to be a part of the main cast of The Playlist! I’m so grateful that I got to play Bobbie T, a character I really connected with. Alongside a cast of brilliant actors, directed by the exceptional Per-Olav Sørensen. I couldn’t be more excited for this series to premiere".
Adding about the premise of ‘The Playlist’, director Per-Olav Sørensen said, “The Playlist is at its very core a story about music. Portraying in fiction how Spotify changed the music industry is impossible without the perspective of the artists, and our character Bobbie T is representing their voices in this story. Janice has brilliantly taken on this role with authenticity and passion and I am amazed by her performance. She is also performing three songs for the series, one of which she has written herself. Her talent, her natural presence on camera and her voice heightens the show immensely. I can’t wait for everyone to experience it later this year.”
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘THE PLAYLIST’ HERE
The moment Janice wrote a song of her own for the first time something changed. Like a switch that immediately thrust her into a thrilling new world, the Swedish soul singer saw a path open up in front of her. She grew up in a house alive with the sound of 90’s singers, pioneers who rode the wave between pop and soul – from Whitney Houston and Erykah Badu through Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo – but at school she began to veer towards dancing, doubting the beating of her heart even though she knew it belonged to the songs she’d perform in the quiet of her home.
Just as she was beginning to feel like she was in the wrong place with her dance studies, she was introduced to gospel singing, joining a choir in Stockholm and instantly falling for this bold new way of expressing melody and emotions. Occasionally lending herself to backing vocals, Janice soon began seeing her peers developing their own works and just like that a seed was born.
In 2022, Janice is reaping the rewards of that endeavour. She first broke through at a young age and while she regrets nothing from her tentative steps in the music industry, she wishes she’d been able to take a little more time over the decisions she made and the work she created while grabbing at the opportunities that presented themselves.
Determined to stay true to those personal ideals, it’s been four years since the release of her debut album ‘Fallin’ Up’, and that care and attention she hoped to manifest are now there for all to see. In April she released the beautiful ‘Make Me Feel’, a standalone single that announced her return ahead of a brand new EP to be released this autumn. A four-song collection, The Playlist [EP] is tied with the release of a brand new Netflix series called ‘The Playlist’, which explores the origins of Spotify – and which also marks Janice’s acting debut.
As well as completing work on ‘The Playlist’, and starring as Maria in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, which toured across Scandinavia, Janice has also been working on her much-anticipated new album, which is set for release in 2023. Renting a house in the middle of nowhere, she invited some friends over for a week, some of her favourite producers and songwriters, and began to sketch out some ideas that will become her new full-length work. Surrounded by inspiration, a beautiful starting point for the new record, Janice is determined to start her next chapter by remembering why she does all of this; why she has already worked so hard for so long.
“It’s very important that I keep hold of my purpose,” she explains. “And I always come back to why I want to do this. It's about the love for music and also the empowerment of music. It’s about the healing of it; the light and the force it brings. Music has made me the person that I am and has also saved me at points in my life. So I hope that people can find my music healing and take strength from it somehow.”
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