This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Music saved me. I mean, music is been the biggest therapy to me in my life, which is why again, this has been such a major thing for me just because it's so important for people to recognize that maybe yes, music, but passion in general, anything that inspires you to feel, you know, feel something. I think just helps. There's the helps the healing process. I'm Lynn Hoffman and welcome to another edition of the music saved me podcast, the podcast that explores the healing power of music on this episode. Our guest is Jenna Lauren Andrews. Jenna is a singer songwriter and highly sought after record producer with a hugely successful career ranging from her own hit single Tumbling Down, which was featured on the television show, Grey's Anatomy to the hit BTS song, Butter and Dynamite as a rare female producer. Jenna is not only the woman behind the hits. She's also an advocate for mental health awareness and has developed a new show called the green room, a digital TV series about mental health awareness in the music industry. Jenna, welcome to music saved me. Thank you for having me. Can you tell us a little bit about the green room and more importantly, what motivated you with all the things that you do in your career to create this particular show? I've always found that songwriting is a very like therapeutic process and it's always helped me write the best song. So I feel like, you know, in getting to know people, obviously in the writing room and stuff, it really helps to just sort of break the ice by feeling vulnerable and sometimes that's really hard to do. And I think especially as an artist in the beginning of my career, you know, you learn the, you know, the hard way, but also it ends up being positive, you know, because it's it's sort of, I don't know, like soul affirming, you know, it just makes you feel better to know that you have a support system within the creative community. And I just, I felt like it was a necessary force just because you know, like I've met some of my favorite people that way, but beyond that, I think just for people looking in like the fans and people in like, obviously watching in these people that they, you know, admire and and have, you know, feel like, you know, maybe they're live, they're unattainable. I think it's nice to know that we're all sort of human at the end of the day. You've had some great guests on to share their stories. Can you can you share with our audience some of the people that have been on who have revealed their own struggles? Yeah, I mean, hi, I've peaked in Sarah who are actually from Calgary where I'm from as well. So that was really cool. Lenin Stella, who's an artist that I developed and signed and worked with for many years. And I'm trying to think like so many artists called Upsol, Parsons James, JoJo, I just had Mickey Guyton, Ixid Demelio. Yeah, so that's to name a few. Well, it's just an amazing thing that you're doing because you're taking these people who otherwise are basically inaccessible to the average person who also could be suffering and you're and you're letting them tell their story in a great environment for other people to learn from them, which is always such a huge thing. How have you pushed yourself and others to be so open and transparent about those challenges because it's not easy to talk about that publicly sometimes. No, that's actually a really good question. And honestly, that's going back to what I was saying before. I really do think that that's one of the main reasons I felt it was important to do that because I think that it's in some of the episodes we've done, especially during COVID. You know, I was doing it live, like live streaming it obviously like and I felt like there was a lot of people that were really engaging and feeling just the way that you said like watching you know, their heroes just kind of admit that they have the same sort of issues as they did and it made them feel better about themselves, which was a big part of my goal as well. But I think in terms of just the artists that I've had on and the friends and people that have talked about what they're going through, I think for me, luckily a lot of the guests that I've had so far have been people that I've worked with or know, right? So I feel like in that sense, they already feel slightly vulnerable with me and open. But in terms of the couple guests that I've had that I haven't known as well, I do think that I've just similar to how it is in songwriting for me. I guess I take that same approach in terms of the conversation that we have on the green room. I think it just kind of starts and as a very human thing, I always kind of compare it to like, I mean, not that it's necessarily a blind date, but it kind of feels like the same way and if it goes well, put it that way. I think that you need, you have to treat someone like a human, right? Like you can't feel so robotic or you're trying to get something out of them for reasons that are superficial or whatever. It just has to feel very much authentic and that's really seemed to work so far. Do you feel that music has healing powers? Oh, big time. I mean, I've always said that and I still say that. I mean, music has been the biggest therapy to me in my life, which is why, again, this has been such a major thing for me just because it's so important for people to recognize that maybe yes, music, but passion in general, anything that inspires you to feel, you know, feel something. I think just helps. There's the helps the healing process. I mean, for me, I grew up, my dad's a psychologist. So I've been around or education psychologist is a professor and I have definitely gone to therapy and done all those things, but in terms of my biggest healing source is really just been through music, which is why I felt like this is so important to do, you know, writers or perform, you know, whatever part of the music world, they're always being evaluated sort of under the microscope on myriad levels, not just professionally, but personally, and this must create. Well, let me ask you, what does this create in terms of anxiety and the expectations put upon musicians particularly? You mean like in the entertainment business, like this anxiety come from that? Yeah, that you're asking. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, 100%. I mean, listen, I think to some extent, it's based on how you grow up and whether or not, you know, anxiety and mental health is very much a genetic thing as well. Right. So it's, and again, I'm not, I'm not going to speak to that as if I'm, you know, a professional, but in terms of what I do know, you know, it may be not anxiety, but definitely like depression and all those things, you know, sometimes these aren't things that we can necessarily control. So I think if you're somebody that's already prone to those feelings coming to the music industry is very dangerous place in some ways and not in a negative way, but just in a way that I think needs to, you know, be controlled. And I think again, that's a deeper conversation. I think that it's, you know, we're, we're trying to make baby steps towards, you know, helping these things for the entertainment business. But again, this is why I felt interested in it. And I think that the more resources that we put out there for, for people, the better, especially within my community. I'm trying to, you know, do what I can. Sure. And you're doing a great job. I also noticed that you do have professionals in the therapy world on the show to answer those questions or to discuss topics that maybe, you know, people watching or even yourself wouldn't quite understand or be able to say. Well, that's exactly the point. I mean, even talking to you about this now, sometimes it's hard to speak like in an educated manner when it comes down to these things because it's, there's such important issues. So I think to have trained therapists on as well as be able to actually give advice from an educated standpoint, plus, you know, in terms of like suicide help lines and, and just all those things that the Jed Foundation, who is also a partner in the green room has been so amazing in providing a bunch of different things in terms of the support, you know, support lines, you know, and things like that, that, that we can do anything to sort of give back on that, on that side, which is, you know, something that I felt like I wouldn't obviously be able to do myself and, you know, so. No, I get it. I would, that's, it's, it's a large topic. When your music personally or the green room, your show really connects with your fan base, how does that make you feel? I mean, it's the best feeling in the world. I mean, just, you know, based on what we're saying alone, I mean, some of the songs don't feel like they come from a certain place to struggle, but even if they are happy songs or lyrically, you know, not anything to do with, you know, dark subjects, sometimes they get pulled from places in your soul. That's like, again, a very healing place. So I think in all the songs that I've ever been a part of, I feel like there's a, you know, a part of healing in there. I think I've, like genuinely, I asked you were to name any song that have been a part of, I feel like there's been an aspect of that that's really contributed to, you know, a positive space in my mental health. So I think in terms of that and to feel, to see how people receive it is, is incredible. You have it all in the industry. I mean, you're writing hit songs for some of the biggest names in the business, not to mention yourself. And to come away from that and do this is, is a completely different career move altogether. What made you decide to do such an extremely personal series like this? I think it was just a void that I've felt for a long time just because I've struggled, you know, my whole life with all these things, whether it be anxiety or depression, all these things that we've talked about. And I think that rather than feel, you know, ashamed, which I think even though it's more exposed today and I think that again, it's becoming a subject that people feel comfortable talking about. I feel like, you know, that's really been in the last five years that I've noticed it the most. But I think that like going back 15 years ago, especially when I was in high school, I think that wasn't necessarily a thing. And I do think it still exists that people feel ashamed of those things and it genuinely is a real sickness, you know, and I think that to be able to feel comfortable to talk about it out loud and make it a positive thing rather than a negative thing was something that was really important to me. So that's really why you're so humble. How much do you feel really seriously? I mean, that I know that it helps you what you're doing, but it also helps so many people just talking about things when people realize they have a connection or a commonality with someone that they looked up to that can change a person's life. I appreciate that. And I honestly, that means the world to me because that really is the goal. And I and you know, I look at things the same way that I have my music careers, everything's baby steps, right? So you can't you can't expect to like move a mountain in a day. But I think that even if you can, like you said, change one person's life, that's really the goal. And I think that if you can work towards it to me, there's no finish line. If that makes sense. No, no, there shouldn't be. Yeah. What music connects with you in a healing manner? Who do you listen to when you really need to get through something or if you're struggling with something? Well, that's a good question. I mean, I mean, I will really pull it back to music because music is like, I think that anybody who's truly in it for the long run, I think, you know, it becomes such a massive part of your life. So a lot of your outlet is in your music, but in terms of talking to friends and, and, you know, relationships and family and stuff like, of course that exists. And I do have a support system, but I do think that like a lot of my outlet comes in music, to be honest. Would you say that creating and hosting the Green Room series is more important than perhaps even your musical legacy? A hundred percent. Like that's that's what I tell a lot of people that come on. I that's really what I feel. I think that eventually I want this to feel exactly like that because I think it's something that again, I didn't really speak about this, but when I was doing my artist project, I was signed back to Def Jam and I was touring all those things. I think one of the things that really held me back was my mental health and I wasn't sure really how to deal with it. And I think that to be able to speak to that or to the, you know, the newer generations coming up and to be able to help. That's again, a part of the reason why I love artist development. Things like that. Cause I feel like I could be the mentor that I kind of wish I had, you know, like there's definitely people that I've had that have been helpful to me, but I don't know that I necessarily had that one mentor and I think that that's definitely a goal of mine. Mentors are huge. They're everything. You only think if you, if you have more than one, you are so blessed and I know I've had a few of them in my life. So I can totally understand what you mean by that and you think about all the people out there that may never come across a mentor and how important that role for somebody to play in someone's life is. So speaking of that, where can people find your show to watch the green room? So basically it's all the same across all socials. It's really just the green room talks and that's, you know, whether it be, you know, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, all those things. And I think that's it. I'm not missing anything. I mean, there was a time where we were, that's not, yeah, there was doing, we were doing a couple other, like I said, during COVID, it was like twitching and YouTube rodeo, which I'm not even sure if they do that anymore. But anyway, the main episodes you can obviously find on the green room talk. So excellent. Jenna, thank you so much for being on Music Saved Me and thank you for the work you and your team continue to do in bringing mental health out of the darkness. And we wish you nothing but huge success moving forward in your life with everything that you do. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate the time. And again, this means a lot to me. So I appreciate the conversation. This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.
