What started as a note scribbled for her parents in her school diary would go on to fuel a lifelong passion for music and performance. 

Jessica Magro was only 12 years old when her voice caught the attention of her school’s choir director. Chosen for a solo that left her teacher quite impressed, it was on said teacher’s recommendation that Magro’s parents decided to send her to singing lessons. Paired with vocal coach Doreen Galea, under her instruction Magro has built quite a storied experience on the festival circuit, both locally and abroad. 

Now working as an accountant, Magro has far more on her plate to balance with managing her singing career. Nonetheless, her exemplary dedication to her craft has paid off, seeing the release of her debut single, Fearless. The product of many a sleepless night, Fearless is not just a labour of love for Magro, but a decisive act of chasing her passion. 

“It’s a lot of sacrifice,” Magro says, “but it’s all worth it”.

“It all comes down to how passionate you are and how ready you are to sacrifice your time for what you love.” 

Writing and recording her single presented a fresh challenge for Magro. Having toured a number of festivals and done rather well many times, she felt the need to try something different and new for her. Having written some material for herself in the past, she plucked up her courage and committed to writing a song for public consumption. 

“It’s a risk, putting something you love out there,” she says, “you never know whether it’s going to be appreciated or liked”. 

“But you have to learn to accept constructive criticism that will help you grow in the long run.” 

Fearless is a bit of a bittersweet composition, Magro notes. Having passed through some difficult times, Magro took these low points in her life and channelled them into the lyrics of the song. The experience was profound and gave her the push she needed to go public with it. 

“It brings something positive out of something negative,” Magro says of the experience.

Self-publishing music comes with a fair deal of rejection and disappointment

“The song is about your reaction to the environment around you,” she explains, “when things don’t go to plan, when life brings you something imperfect or a situation you don’t want to be in, you have to be fearless, you have to keep on going and ultimately make your dreams a reality”.

The music video also reflects the themes in the song’s lyrics, set in an abandoned and derelict property. 

“I wanted something that wasn’t nice to look at, a lot of broken things, an abandoned environment,” Magro says. 

“I wanted it to visually highlight that even when your surroundings aren’t perfect, you have to be the focus of your life.” 

Creating and producing the single still posed a number of challenges for Magro, not the least of which being financial, given the expensive nature of many of the elements that go into creating a song. 

As an independent artist, Magro had to take on many of the roles usually delegated to professionals herself, with research and organisation taking up a large chunk of her time. 

“I have a diary just for this,” she remarks with a laugh, “I have to schedule everything, so I write it down”. 

Self-publishing music comes with a fair deal of rejection and disappointment, but regardless, Magro has pushed on with her song, curating a niche presence online and managing a number of television appearances as well as frequent radio play. 

“Are dreams work?” I ask her offhandedly. 

“Definitely,” she says, without missing a beat. “But you have to keep working for them.”

There’s a certain fearless quality about that. 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/KOaTlODk1b4