Jenna Raine on songwriting, Tiktok and her newest single “Rent Free”
Written by Lucy Ivey
Photos by Caity Krone
Meet Jenna Raine, an 18 year old singer songwriter born and raised in Texas. Raine has recently taken the world of Tiktok by storm with her incredible songwriting and beautiful covers. I sat down with Jenna to discuss her songwriting, Tiktok, and more.
Tell us about yourself.
Well, my name is Jenna Raine. I'm a singer-songwriter, and I'm a very happy person! I find myself to be very joyful in this life. All I want to do is bring light in this world through my music and my writing. My main goal is to inspire people.
When did you start doing music?
I started doing music when I was nine years old. I joined the talent show in third grade and sang “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, and my parents didn't even really know I had a huge passion for singing. My mom literally asked me what my talent was when I told her I wanted to join the talent show. Once they saw my potential on the third grade talent show stage in the cafeteria, they put me into vocal lessons. So that's how I got into music.
What inspired you to start?
Well, I grew up loving music always. I grew up in church, listening to an artist named Kari Jobe who always inspired me. On top of that, my sister was in high school when I was four and five, so I was always listening to the radio, always listening to music and just dancing around with her and her friends. That had a huge effect on my childhood and that just kind of stuck with me. I remember always loving to sing, too — I knew that there was something deep down in me that loved writing poetry, even as a kid in elementary school. So, when that talent show opportunity came up in third grade, I just took it. I don't know why, but there was just something in my heart telling me I needed to do it. Then, after that, my parents were so supportive in getting me singing lessons.
What is your favorite part about songwriting?
I love that I can take what I know about songwriting and help other people with this talent that God gave me. I think it's the coolest thing that I'm able to help others with my craft, help them feel comforted and less alone, and tell their story, as well as my own. I think it's really cool.
So you have a very prominent following on TikTok, how did that begin?
My following on TikTok began, kinda, through Musical.ly. I was “crowned” on Musical.ly when it wasn’t TikTok, so that’s super funny. If you scroll down, I have a lot of Musical.ly videos. It’s so funny that I’m bringing that up right now. Once TikTok rolled around, I started posting a lot of relatable girl content, and those videos started doing really really well. I was just posting videos I thought would be relatable and connect and resonate with girls my age, and that really clicked with a specific group of people. On top of that, nobody knew I could sing, so I started writing 100 songs in a year, and I made it a part of this TikTok challenge. I allowed my followers to tell me what they wanted me to write about, and I would reply to the comment and post the song that I wrote. That’s kind of how I got a more prominent following — with music and things like that!
Do you remember the first song of yours that went viral on TikTok?
I do remember the first song that went viral on my TikTok — it wasn’t necessarily “viral,” but it had 100,000 likes. It was a song that I wrote about dating Draco Malfoy. Someone commented asking me to write that song, so I did! People really liked it, which I think is hilarious. I’m not sure how that was the one that really clicked with everybody, but that was the one! A song I wrote about fictionally dating Draco Malfoy for this girl that needed it!
What’s your songwriting process like?
It normally starts with me on the piano or the guitar. Sometimes, it’ll also start with a lyric idea that I had throughout my day that I feel really inspired by, and I’ll go on the piano or guitar and start writing. A lot of it is doing everything all at once — melody, chords, singing. When I wrote “see you later (ten years),” it didn’t take much time, because I knew exactly what I wanted to write. When I sit down and write a song, I normally have a motive, and that really helps me achieve the goal that I want, which is writing a song that I feel is good!
Let’s talk about your new song, “rent free.” What was the inspiration behind it?
“rent free” was inspired by one of my best friends. She was spending a lot of time on her crush — a guy that didn’t necessarily care about her. She was paying for his food, she even drove him everywhere. She was giving him so much of her time and he did not deserve it. At all. She could not let go of this guy and it drove me insane! I wanted to write this song for her and for every single person that needs to be reminded to let go of that crush that they are letting waste their time.
You write a lot about relationships, is songwriting healing for you?
Songwriting is very healing for me. I also love helping other people heal through my writing. It doesn’t only help me, but it helps my friends, my listeners, and people that I care about. I want them to have that same feeling I get when writing the song for myself. I think a huge part of it is I not only want it to heal me, but also heal other people. It’s very healing.
Where can people find your music?
You can find my music on all streaming platforms! If you want something that is more than just a song, then you can go to my YouTube, Jenna Raine, and watch some music videos that I’ve made with the most talented directors. Adding onto that, you can go to my TikTok and Instagram — I tease a lot of my unreleased music there. So, if you want a sneak peek of what may be coming next, go there, which will be @ItsJennaRaine!
