Paris Jackson excited, nervous over album
NEW YORK >> It started in her bedroom with just a guitar, but Paris Jackson has turned coping with the heartache after a recent breakup into her debut solo album.
Jackson, 22, has been a devoted music fan all her life and dabbled in making her own, but has been hesitant to call herself a singer- songwriter until now.
“It’s one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced,” Jackson told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview this week.
She describes her ethereal acoustic sound as alternative folk— a far cry from the genre of her father, Michael Jackson. Being the daughter of the King of Pop adds an extra layer of scrutiny to the vulnerability required to put personal songs out into the world.
“I’m excited, I’m nervous, but I feel confident that the people that are supposed to hear this record are going to hear it. It’s going to reach them. And with regards to critics and stuff, I don’t really think they’re going to know how to critique it,” Jackson says.
Earlier this year, Jackson was one half of acoustic duo the Soundflowers with boyfriend Gabriel Glenn, until the two split. She describes nursing a broken heart as a literal “aching in your chest,” but Jackson turned her pain into art. “You were my all/ And now I fall to the ground,” she sings on her new single “Let Down,” which was released Friday.
The time in her bedroom resulted in 11 songs on the concept album “Wilted,” set for release by Republic Records on Nov. 13. All the stages of grief are represented in her lyrics: anger, denial, bargaining and acceptance. But the last song, the upbeat “Another Spring,” reveals a stronger woman who lets her “wounds shine through.”
Jackson cites many musical influences — including singer- songwriters Damien Rice, Ray LaMontagne and Conor Oberst. Her eyes light up when she talks about being a “massive fan” of the indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. When she heard that guitarist-singer-son gwriter Andy Hull from the band would produce her first record, she was elated. She flew to Atlanta to work with him and says the band was supportive of her sound.