Texas singer-songwriter Blessing Jolie released her eagerly anticipated debut album, 20nothing, earlier this month, and it feels like the perfect entry point for new fans of a star who’s poised to be the next big thing.
The nine-track project, which includes fan favorites “20teens” and “Software Developer,” is a striking showcase of her genre-blurring sound, fusing indie-pop and R&B vibes with country and even nu metal elements. Of course, Blessing feels completely at home and in her element at every turn. She’s a master of playing with sound to tell her story—a coming-of-age narrative about navigating your early 20s and finding they’re nothing like you’ve been told, figuring your place in the world when reality doesn’t live up to your expectations. We’ve adored the album from the first listen, and we had the pleasure of hopping on a Zoom call with Blessing to discuss everything this first album means to her. Read our full interview below.
Sweety High: What the album’s title, 20nothing mean to you? How does the title build off of “20teens,” and why did it feel like it perfectly summed up this collection of songs?
Blessing Jolie: It was a bit of a coincidence for me that it came from “20teens,” because the first lyric starts with “20 nothing.” Everyone would tell me that my early 20s are going to be something, maybe the best and most memorable moments of my life. For me, it just wasn’t ever that.
Instead, it was a lot of guesswork. A lot of learning things the hard way, the harsh way, or not learning them at all. That’s what it was like for me. People thought my 20s were going to be something. Not quite. It was kind of nothing.
(20nothing via Thirty Tigers)
SH: Do you think what people were telling you set up this expectation and put you in a mindset that made it harder to get where you needed to go at that time in your life?
BJ: Yeah, it kind of gave me—I wouldn’t call it false hope, because there were goods and bads to it—but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. There was a lot of learning, for me.
SH: How did you channel those ideas into the album, and how do you hope those themes show through for the fans?
BJ: I hope people understand that I paid a lot of attention. I was told something would happen, that it was going to be good. Sort of given a precedent of something to look forward to. So I was just really aware throughout that process and paid attention a lot harder. I was very present and I hope that awareness, that attention, shows throughout the album. I probably overthought a lot of things as well.
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SH: How would you describe the album’s sound? Production-wise, how did you go about bringing yourself to the music and bringing these tracks to life?
BJ: I’d never made an album before, so that was a pro and a con. I didn’t have much direction on how to do it, so I just did whatever I wanted to do. I was very ware that these songs represent this period of time. For me, it wasn’t about tying the sound together, but more the stories throughout the music that tie the entire album together.
To me, it sounds a bit like a mixtape because it’s so many different genres inside of one body of work, but I think it’s perfect. It’s perfect because I didn’t have much knowledge on how to go about it. That’s another teachable moment. It’s another thing I’ve learned that I’m gonna take with me as I continue to make other bodies of work. This was the first, and it shows. You can see the rough edges of it all. But in that, it’s got the beautiful in the ugly. That sort of gist.
SH: Do you feel these songs represent where you are in life right now, or do they feel like a time capsule leading up to today?
BJ: I think a time capsule. I hope that they aren’t where I’m at right now. And I love that about music. At least for me, it’s documentation. I hope that I’ll be able to listen back on the albums that I’ve made and be like, yo, I remember this part of my life. I like that it serves as a bit of documentation for me. Some people write and journal. For me, I go the extra mile by adding melody and sounds to it.
SH: Do you have a favorite song on the album?
BJ: Right now, it’s “20teens.” It may change, but that’s it right now. Just sonically, and then I remember the story that went with it. It’s super witty. It’s definitely the way I came off. That’s the one that I’m in love with.
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SH: Was there anything that surprised you about the process of recording your first album?
BJ: Just how hard it actually was. Making the album, I was like man, I thought it was just gonna be writing the songs, and having Julian [Cruz], who’s the executive producer, producing, and then I sing the songs and it’s done. It was so not that. There were so many other things to think about. Like okay, you wrote this song on guitar, but how do you want it to sound when it’s actually produced? I didn’t know. It really was a creative challenge for me, which was really nice.
Then, there was the “hurry up and wait” of it. I had to hurry up to finish the album, but then it still took a really long time for it to come out.
SH: What was the most important thing for getting the album right and make sure it had the connective tissue to feel like one cohesive project?
BJ: I think for me, the connective tissue always will always be the words, will always be the lyrics, will always be the story. I’ll probably go on to make more bodies of work that sonically are kind of in the same realm. I think no matter what, even if we took out what’s there sonically, that if you just take the track list and read the lyrics as though they’re the chapters of a book, they’ll all cohesively flow. This was was 20nothing, the story or the book, regardless of the instrumentals, regardless of all of the music.
(Image courtesy of Blessing Jolie)
SH: What has it been like to now have your debut album out in the world and for people to be able to listen to your first full-length project?
BJ: It’s like a breath of fresh air, honestly. I’m still continuing to work on stuff, but I feel like I can breathe for a minute. Now there’s something out there for me to talk about. There’s something out there for people to listen to and get to know me. With “20teens,” people were like, oh man, I wish there were more songs out. Now, there’s a whole body of work that goes with it—eight more songs on the album that come right after it. I finally have music and art out that’s more recent, even if it’s not what I’m living right now. It had been a while since I had dropped music prior, so being able to display something more recent is big.
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SH: What’s one thing you’re proudest of right now?
BJ: It’s a good question. I think it would be finally making it to this point, because there were so many times where I wasn’t sure if the album would come out. There are always things that can happen in this business. I wasn’t sure if the album would come out, not sure if this song would be on the album—even though this song is a part of the story and I have to have it here, and no, it can’t come out as a single after it, no, it can’t be on another body of work because it represents this time period. The thing I’m proudest of is just sticking through it. Sticking it out all the way.
SH: Is there anything else fans should know about you or the album?
BJ: The music is, in my opinion, really good. You should definitely have a listen. I hope you love the songs as much as I do.
You can listen to the album in full here:
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