Jackson Novem – «You Should Be Here»

Singer/songwriter Jackson Novem (21) began writing poetry at the age of nine, which subsequently led to his co-opting of the Latin word for the number in his stage name.

When Jackson received a secondhand iPad for his 14th birthday, he instantly took to producing music on it and commonly cites Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson , and Elton John as musical influences in his formative years.

«My dad would always play the classic rock station and my mom would blast disco, so I really got a good mix of styles growing up, which I think really shows in how each song I write has it’s own sound, I really want my records to be dynamic, swirling between genres like a brush applying each paint to a canvas».

Jackson released his debut album, «Rollercoaster», on August 14th, 2017, just days before his 20th birthday. He described the album as one that was the result of a long writing process that began after the end of a relationship.

«It’s really a record about the highs and lows of that time in my life… all these memories just hit me at random moments and I knew that I needed to write this (record) to move on».

The young artist also plays both guitar and piano in addition to his talents in songwriting and producing and is a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, balancing his education with his passion for music.

Jackson Novem released his new single «You Should Be Here» on February 28th, 2019. The song came after Jackson found his puppy, Percy, killed by a speeding driver on October 23rd, 2018,. He channeled his grief over the months following the tragic accident into writing a song to help others experiencing loss and started a petition to change the legal designation of pets/domestic animals as sentient beings under the law, giving them more rights. The song was produced and written solely by Jackson, and will also be included in his upcoming EP that will be released later this year.

«You Should Be Here» will be added to the LGBTQ Music Chart, this Sunday (March 10th 2019) when voting for Week 12 starts.