WITH FOUR U.K. SMASHES UNDER HER BELT, STACEY JACKSON SASHAYS TOWARD STATESIDE SUCCESS

First Single ‘Is This Love’ Brings ‘80s Whitesnake Smash To Millennial Dancefloors

There aren’t a lot of entertainers who spend one night in the recording studio working with Snoop Dogg, then return home the next to host the annual PTA Christmas party. But that personifies the unconventional career of singer/songwriter Stacey Jackson, who has four U.K. hits under her belt, with four kids under her purview—all without burning the toast.

“I was fortunate to have my kids at a younger age, and always knew I wanted to have a career in my prime, as well. Hey, they say the 40s are the new 30s,” says Jackson, who grew up in Canada and now lives in London. “The mom the wife, the music and performing are all cumulative to make a whole Stacey. And I feel like I’m inspiring my own children in the process.”

In Summer 2011, the mama by day, diva by night, burned up the U.K. Commercial Pop Chart with empowering self-penned uptempo anthem “Live It Up,” which includes a rap from iconic hip-hop pioneer Snoop Dogg. The track catapulted to No. 2 (just behind Katy Perry’s “Friday Night”) and No. 8 on Dance Club Play. Four months earlier, “I Am A Woman” peaked at No. 5 on the Club chart, with accompanying rerubs from Soulshakers, Stereojackers and Sharp Boys. Previously, she scored with panache-packed dance remixes of Motown classics “Band of Gold,” which hit No. 17, and “I Hear A Symphony,” at No. 9.

And now, Jackson is ready to rally North America with new single “Is This Love,” a dancefloor reworking of Whitesnake’s 1987 No. 2 rock power ballad. She will support the release of accompanying six-track EP “Live It Up” on indie label 3B1G Records with a cross-country promotional tour in November that includes initial stops in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

“Now that I’ve established somewhat of a profile in the U.K., I’m eager to return to North America and show them what I’ve got,” she says. “And what better way than with this great song that people are familiar with, which meant a lot to me growing up as a fan of Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses and of course Whitesnake—with my big ‘80’s hair.”

Ironically, rocker chick is what Jackson always envisioned; in fact, her foray into the dance world came as a fortunate accident. She has been performing since childhood, raising money at the age of 11 for the Jerry Lewis Telethon through a neighborhood variety show she assembled and hosted, which led to an invitation to sing on Montreal TV. “I decided at that moment that I wanted to be a pop star,” Jackson recalls.

Fast-forward to her teen years, where she joined a hard rock band, writing, singing and touring Canada—playing “just-this-side-of-the-highway” joints, she says—before college and then career opportunities as a publicist for CBS and Lifetime networks in New York. That allowed Jackson to soak up show business savvy from the likes of clients Tim Robbins, Quentin Tarantino, Rowan Atkinson and Debbie Reynolds.

In 2009, she and husband Henry Jackson moved the family to London, ushering the opportunity to return to her love of music. Jackson recorded the 12-track “Upside Down,” a novel fusion of classic Motown and ‘80s hair-band rock. She also again indulged her devotion to charity by utilizing talented children from the U.K.’s Music for Youth organisation on the full-length album—ultimately contributing a check for £20,000 from the project’s revenue to the organization, which supports education with scholarships for talented youth.

“I’ve always loved Motown and wanted to reintroduce it to the U.K. with my own spin—to see how creative I could be with these classic songs,” she says. “All of the kids that participated were under the age of 20 and I brought in over 30 on my dime—choirs, orchestral strings, bassists, guitarists—and sprinkled them throughout the album.”

Jackson had never considered remixing the songs until DJs in the London club community got hold of “Band of Gold” and amped it with beats and synths. “Out of nowhere, the ‘housewife from Chelsea’ had a hit on the charts,” she says. “It was insane.” Sensing that this fluke could evolve into opportunity as more producers began reaching out suggesting her vocals were a perfect match for this genre of music, Jackson oversaw similar refashioning of album track “I Heard A Symphony,” including remixes from top-selling electronica duo Loverush UK! She adds, “The song goes to No. 9, sitting between Lady Gaga and Scissor Sisters. A 40-year-old in the dance world? I’m thinking, ‘WTF?’”

“I Am A Woman,” released in late 2010, became Jackson’s foray into hit songwriting, with a kitschy music video that illustrates her life story as a full-time mom simultaneously fulfilling her high-heeled dreams: “Look, I’m not trying to fool anyone into believing I’m a 25-year-old flirting with a hot guy half my age. If I can inspire women that after having four kids, I can live this life, hopefully look great doing it and put out shit-hot music that DJs are playing, then why not? The real world is about balance.”

Jackson should know. She relates the story of performing a show in Chester, England, close to the Wales border, then rushing home—amid a rare snowstorm—and arriving at 4 a.m., barely in time to see her daughter's Nativity play that morning. Eight hours later, she was hosting 100 guests for another child's school PTA organization at her home. “It’s the epitome of my life,” she says with a laugh. “I’ll tell you, I certainly don’t sweat the small stuff anymore.”

Of course, that still doesn’t explain the unlikely pairing of a mum and her sparring gangsta partner Snoop Dogg on No.2 pop hit “Live It Up.” Jackson explains that she wrote the song—inspired by a dream she had about her deceased father’s encouragement—with room for a rap. Her manager reasoned: Why not send Snoop the track and see if he’s interested. A week later, Jackson was in Boston, where the duo talked about parenting, music and life choices. “He loved the track and listened carefully as I talked about my life" she says. “His rap is so personal, all about me 'letting my hair down' as he wrote himself -- it fits the song beautifully. He was so honest; I felt like we had a real rapport. And my kids, of course, think I’m the coolest mom ever.” In addition, the rapper decreed her an honorary member of Tha Dogg Pound.

Jackson touches down in the States in early November to promote EP “Live It Up,” which includes the title track, “I Am A Woman” and new release “Is This Love.” A video clip for the latter was lensed by Luke Biggins (Ludacris, Styles P, Cassidy, Estelle, Daniel Beddingfield), while the song’s Tony Moran remix will simultaneously hit U.S. clubs.

“My goal isn’t to necessarily have 20 hits,” Jackson admits. “If I can have even one song that people remember and still love to listen to years down the line, I’ll have fulfilled my wildest fantasies. But, baby, I’m already living my dream.

As interviewed by Chuck Taylor, Former Editor of Billboard Magazine

Contact: Brad Taylor (Big Machine Media US) +1-646-395-2600

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