Natalie Jane: A Look Into The Life of Pop’s Rising Princess
With her unapologetic lyrics and powerful voice, New Jersey native Natalie Jane has risen to fame after the release of her hit single, Intrusive Thoughts.
But 9.9 million followers on TikTok and over 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify don’t come overnight. Her fanbase, which she calls the Twisted Tummy Club, is thriving more than ever, and has grown astronomically over the last eighteen months.
At just twenty years old, she has already accomplished more than others her age could dream of, including signing with Capitol Records, virality online, and a sold-out headline tour in 2023 – just to name a few. Her raw emotion, controlled voice and undeniable stage presence leave no reason to question why her fans adore the artist – she focuses on love and heartbreak with a unique twist that convey unparalleled levels of emotion.
But preparing to head out on the Sick To My Stomach Tour, and with a newly released EP by the same name under her belt, I spoke with Natalie about her musical process, upcoming tour and recent Netflix feature.
A major contribution to Natalie’s early success came from her major social media presence. Even before she got her start in the industry, Natalie could be found making content on TikTok from the underground levels of parking garages. To date, her huge cover of Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 hit, Crazy, alongside fellow artist Geena Fontanella, has more than 19m likes on the platform. Natalie acknowledges the immense impact that social media has had on her life and career so far, crediting it to helping her get to where she is today. She most loves the ability to use her passion for creating and expressing herself on her platforms, saying that she uses it to show who she is at heart.
Natalie’s unique knowledge of social media led to the untraditional campaign for her song, June, featuring everyday love in both real and scripted moments. The campaign captured strangers in love, or as Natalie described it, “authentically in love”. But life online hasn’t come without its fair share of challenges. Being so open about her life online has led Natalie to face criticism and hate – her lyrics also require her to be extremely vulnerable, which she admits at time, can take its toll.
But amongst all of this, she considers herself lucky to have a supportive and upbeat team around her on tour. She finds joy in performing and feeling the positive energy that radiates from her fans, saying that, “When you’re on tour it’s just a room full of love. I think that in itself is almost therapeutic and incredible for your mental health.”
We spoke about some of her biggest inspirations, and it comes as no surprise that those she named are synonymous with the Gen-Z among us. “I’d say Billie Eilish, Bishop Briggs, and Labyrinth. I mean, Billie just does whatever she wants – and that’s so cool.”
Sick To My Stomach
Her recent EP, Sick To My Stomach, combines a unique mix of pop, R&B and rock, delivering a one-of-a-kind sound that many couldn’t pull off. Navigating through the trials and tribulations of relationships, heartbreak and love, this release has a way of luring listeners in and cocooning them in the same emotions as Natalie herself. For an artist who is just 19 years old, Natalie does this effortlessly. “I think vocal performance and the emotion that comes out through it can tie anything together,” she states, and her fans certainly agree.
Asked about her favourite track from the release, she names June – a softer and more tender approach to music that Natalie has yet to really dive into. The track tells the story of Natalie’s high school relationship and offers a drastic step-change from the energetic feel of the rest of Sick to My Stomach. “It’s very different from what I’ve done in the past,” she states. “I sing very softly on it which I think shows a very different type of emotion than I normally portray in some of my other tracks.”
When Natalie struggles with creating lyrics for her music, she often starts with a melody and adds to her songs as she finds inspiration. For each writing session, she starts with an idea of the message she wants to illustrate. Diversity in sound and song topics is an important factor to Natalie in her music, which helps her to give each song a unique sound and meaning, such as the gentleness of June in comparison to the electric contrast of Sick to My Stomach or the classic pop sound in Can I See You Tonight?
Her fans
Amazed by the overwhelming sense of community her fans have created around her music, Natalie reflects on her fans and the relatable feeling behind the Twisted Tummy Club. “Having that community of people to talk to or people to have around you to kind of help you get through these tough times and also just listening to the music can also be some kind of therapy.”
Despite her somewhat rapid rise to fame in an industry where some work for a decade to reach notoriety, Natalie feels that she has grown a great amount. And as for the future? Natalie embraces the uncertainty of the music industry, flexible with her future plans and fully accepting of the mystery of what is to come. “That’s the beauty of what I do— you don’t really know what’s going to come next, you kind of just do what you’re feeling at the moment.”
One of the singer’s latest accomplishments is her feature on Netflix’s Uglies. The 2024 film was based on the book series of the same name by Scott Westerfeld. Writing her song “The Top” for the show, challenged Natalie when she was told to write about something other than love, without knowing what the song would be used for. She revealed that the original melody behind the piece came from her first-ever track, Non-Stop.
Expectedly, Natalie had an emotional response when she found out that the track would be featured in the film. “It was my first sync,” she said with a gentle laugh, “and when they told me that it was for the Uglies movie, it was very full circle for me because that was my favourite book growing up.”
Heading out on tour
Looking to the future, Natalie is excited to perform her music live again for fans across the globe. The Sick To My Stomach Tour will stop in multiple locations throughout Australia, Europe and the United States in early 2025, bringing the infectious energy that fans have come to know and love. This time around, however, she is looking forward to the additions of full production elements – lightning, design etc.
Alongside that, fans can also expect new looks cohesive with the grungier Sick To My Stomach EP. Natalie has a keen interest in fashion and design and was keen to get her hands dirty on the merch design for this upcoming string of shows. Speaking of her excitement around the fashion and design elements of touring, Natalie said, “I’ve always wanted to start a clothing brand, and I still do one day. But for now, the merch we’re releasing with this tour is the closest we can get.”
Natalie and her merch designer went back and forth with many revisions, working to perfect the designs for each of the pieces, allowing her to further explore her passion outside of music. She wanted this collection to look less like expected fan-merch, and more likened to a collection from a traditional clothing brand.
Show prep for Natalie’s tour stops start vocal warm-ups and caffeine. From there, her natural energy takes over for an hour of powerful vocals. With blinding lights facing her, Natalie compares singing live to being in the recording studio with her headphones on, feeling the same energy as when she originally wrote the song.
“You can just close your eyes and you’re back there and it feels as if you’re singing it for the first time.”
With her recently released EP and a tour by the same name on the way, Natalie is just at the beginning of her journey to stardom. With her eagerness to capture the stories of love, heartbreak and the journeys in-between, I’d expect that this EP is just a slither of what we can expect from the rest of Natalie’s career.
