Artist Of The Week - Jonessa Monique

A handful of years ago Jonessa Monique was doing the local talent show circuit in Connecticut and a writer for the Hartford Courant nicknamed her “The R&B Angel.” According to Jonessa “it just kind of stuck to me.” Of course, there are no complaints of the title sticking as the Hartford native quickly went from local talent to national talent with an appearance on P. Diddy’s Making The Band 2. She just missed out on being in Da Band, which in some people’s opinion makes her more of a winner than the actual “winners,” but her music career was in full swing. This past month Jonessa released her first single, ‘Thinkin Bout U,” and many are “thinkin” 2007 will be the year she becomes a household name. As with any star on the rise you’re going to read about them here first, which is why this week I sat down with Jonessa to speak with her about her music, her Making The Band experience, and why she considers herself low maintenance.

Adam Bernard: You were a finalist on Making The Band 2. How was that experience and how did you feel about the eventual winners?
Jonessa Monique: I felt like it was a good experience. I think everyone that made the show and made the competition definitely deserved it because everyone on that show was extremely talented and did try very hard so I agreed with his (Puffy's) decision. I just know being on the show the amount of stress and the amount of things we had to go through that if you really didn’t want it you wouldn’t have went through all that.

Adam Bernard: Because you didn’t “win” on the show you didn’t get stuck in one of Puffy’s “dead or broke” contracts. As an artist what are you looking for in a label?
Jonessa Monique: Right now I have a lot of label interest, but I’m looking for a label that’s not necessarily going to give me a lot of money or try to pamper me with material things. I’m not looking to be broke, but I believe in my talent and I feel like the money will come eventually. What I’m looking for is to get a good vibe from my label and gain a friendship and gain a respect where I can feel comfortable and feel like I have longevity with their label.

Adam Bernard: Since the show you’ve moved on to working with some well known producers, including Marley Marl, Timbaland and Rodney Jerkins. How have each of them differed in terms of song creation and the way they’ve wanted to use your voice?
Jonessa Monique: It depends on their production. A lot of them have their own specific styles and want to hear my voice in different ways, it’s just about me being able to adapt to the sound they want. Most of them stayed in the same direction of what I normally do but a lot of them tested the waters with me with seeing what I was capable of doing. I have a pretty good range but it’s just a lot of dynamics to see how soft and how much control I had over my vocals, that was a big thing. They did test my range, but from the material I played for them and what they heard they knew my range was good already. There’s a lot of times in the studio when I’ve done stuff that I didn’t even know I was capable of. (Adam raises an eyebrow) VOCALLY! I tell you, you’re gonna get me in trouble.

Adam Bernard: Do you have any weird artist quirks, like a specific tea you have to drink before singing, or something of that nature?
Jonessa Monique: I don’t really have any rituals or anything that I normally do besides pray before my show and just be thankful. Everything else I just kinda let it flow. I don’t need any kind of tea or a certain kind of food before I perform. I’m used to performing whenever I have to perform and being put on the spot. I’m not really high maintenance, a lot of people would be surprised but I’m pretty simple. It doesn’t take me forever to get ready. It doesn’t take me an hour to do my hair and makeup, I try to be very moderate with my makeup. I’m not the type of person that you need to take out all time or needs to be at a fancy restaurant or a red carpet event, sometimes I like staying in my pajamas and watching TV.

Adam Bernard: What else should people know about you?
Jonessa Monique: If you don’t know already I’m a phenomenal singer and I have phenomenal music that I feel will inspire others. My music is something that you can listen to and it will bring you to a certain point in time in your life, a certain memory. My music is more visual and if you haven’t heard it you should check out my MySpace page, you should Google my name. Look out for me because I’m about to be a household name very soon.

You can check out Jonessa Monique on the MySpace at myspace.com/thernbangel & myspace.com/jonessamonique, and purchase the “Thinkin Bout U” ringtone at PutItOnline.com.