Jillian Dowding, better known to the world as J.J. Wilde, is a Canadian singer from Kitchener, Ontario. She got a big break in college at an open-mic night and the event coordinator Chuck Erman heard her and got her some performing gigs. She was taking musical theatre in college at the time, and her instructors were quite hard on her and told her things like “You don’t have a good singing voice, it’s too low, or it’s not for music theatre, or you have a lazy voice.”
Oh, how wrong they were.
She uses that raspy, low voice to her benefit. It helps her stand out above the pack.
She released her first EP, Wilde Eyes, Steady Hands in 2019, and never looked back. It only has four songs, but man, are they ever good! “Wired” is one of my favorite songs she’s made, and “The Rush” is awesome too, and was also a big hit. She wrote the song one morning when she was late for work, hungover, and still wearing her clothes from last night. We’ve all been there before.
She released her debut album, Ruthless, in 2020. It featured the songs from her EP, plus other great songs like “Gave it All,” and another one of my favorites, “Cold Shoulder.” This album lead to her winning Rock Album of the Year at the 2021 Juno Awards, the first woman to win the award since Alanis Morrissette won in 1996. That’s an incredible accomplishment that shouldn’t go unnoticed.
She didn’t stop there though. She followed her album up with the singles “Best Boy” and “Mercy.” They were both featured on her 2021 EP Wilde. Another great effort by an incredible performer. Other songs like “Bushweed,” “Off the Rails,” and “Someone Under You” will also rock your socks off. Perhaps my favorite song of this EP though is a cover with Brett Emmons from The Glorious Sons of Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Just a great piece of work.
She released a joint EP called Born To Die with Billy Raffoul later in 2021 featuring three songs. She hasn’t released anything since, though. I’m crossing my fingers we get something soon. I feel like we’re due for some new JJ Wilde in our lives.
If you fancy seeing her live, she’ll be performing on Friday, July 7 at the TILT Summer Series in Victoria. Don’t miss your chance to see a show you’ll never forget!