Michigan-born talent Jordyn Jones has accomplished quite a bit for herself: the self described “singer, actress, dancer” has appeared in projects like Dance Moms, Dance Camp and Dancing with the Stars, has accrued an enormous following digital (nearly 6 million on Instagram) and is now embarking on a nationwide tour to promote her self-titled debut, which includes a stop of Houston’s Secret Group. Did we mention? Jones has done all this at only 19 years old.
While acknowledging most people likely know her for her dance work, the performer credits her move to Los Angeles with inspiring her leap into music. “Basically I started as a dancer in Michigan. And once my career started to get bigger and people started knowing who I was, I moved to LA to start a professional dancing career. Then I started to be in a girl group, which completely started my singing career, I started rapping, and it really opened me up to being able to perform. I kind of never thought singing was something I would start so young, and then when I started it and I left the group, I really wanted to pursue a solo career. That started maybe two to three years ago, and since then I’ve been training, recording and performing.”
The self-titled album has been off to a boppin’ start so far, with the EP already wracking up over 6 million streams since release – and the single “More” alone hit over one million ears on YouTube since October 25. “So basically my whole entire EP, I had my engineer Damon Sharp,” Jones says. “He is the best. I feel super comfortable with him and our creative process has just gotten better and better with each song we’ve done. I’ve worked with multiple writers and producers, and different people throughout the whole EP, but I’ve recorded every song with Damon. I feel what’s special about that is I can trust him and he can trust me. We can just pull out the best in each other. Its such an inspiring room to be in every time I go in there, it’s just good vibes.”
For Jones, one of the biggest steps in developing as a musician is the act of songwriting. “I’ve recently started to write music and that was super challenging and also the most amazing part. I’ve learned so much more about the music community because again I’ve been a dancer for ten years, I’ve not just been working on singing. Even chords and things like that, I’m so new to all of that.”
Despite her enormous digital support system, Jones says that growing as an artist with so many followers poses its own challenges. “ I basically have my following from my dance competitions, or my YouTube covers, that’s really where my following started. So basically I’ve been doing music now for 4-5 years, and all of a sudden all these influencers and everything started releasing music. So it got kind of put over us in ways, these social media singers, or social media wannabes or whatever.
"So the past two years, I’ve just tried to get myself away from that bubble, people labeling me that. I’ve just been working really hard on traditional music, and going on my own path. I’m trying not to just be a social media influencer. But of course, that’s the blessing too. Having that following, just being able to press that share button and I’m accessing millions of people. And I’m able to basically promote my tour, promote my music. Back in olden days, as my mom would say, they would have to promote their concert by putting a flyer on a candy store or something. It's so crazy now that we can literally tap one button and we’re sharing our lives.”
Jordan’s fans have the chance to meet the artist via her VIP system at the concert. “[It’s] before I perform, so I’m not all sweaty and everything,” she shares with a laugh. And from the sounds of it, Jones’ fans roll deep. “So inspiring when I go out and I meet… There was this time on a street in Toluca Lake, and these two little girls had their mom and illegally stop traffic to have the girls get out and take a picture with me. That was fun - people are going against the law to get a picture with me!”
Jones’ performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, November 11 at The Secret Group, 2101 Polk. For information, call 832-898-4688 or visit thesecretgrouphtx.com. $20-50.
