Behind the Scenes with Justine Skye

-Stacy Igel Takes Us Behind the Scenes with Justine Skye-

On December 2nd I was invited to attend Justine Skye’s Emotionally Unavailable tour in NYC. I worked with Justine during Fashion Week (she performed her hit song “I’m Yours” at my show), so I was thrilled to be able to cover her for LADYGUNN. When I first met this ubertalented songstress, I said to myself Now that’s an absolute STAR!  Call me clairvoyant… Since Fashion Week, Justine appeared alongside Beyonce at the Tidal X concert at Barclays Center. And now, her solo show at the Gramercy Theatre.

A fan (Audrey of @smoochesandstilletos) said to me, before evening hearing her music,  “I found Justine’s Tumblr account,The Purple Unicorn.  I loved her look and presence. And then, of course, there’s her angelic voice.  It’s hard to believe she’s only been in the music business professionally for a short time.”

Back to the show…  Backstage that night, I asked Justine if she wasn’t singing what would she be doing?  She said she thought she’d probably pursue acting, which made a lot of sense to me because her stage presence is what first caught my attention. She wears emotion like very few artists I’ve ever seen.



I asked Justine what her favorite song on the EP is, and while she didn’t want to pick a favorite per se, she did make special mention of Sugar Coated.  It’s a reflective ballad opening up about Skye’s vulnerability, “I’m a smart girl, but I did stupid stuff sometimes.” The crowd really responded to the lyrics and to Justine.  It’s entirely clear to me why her following is growing as fast as it is.  There’s an emotionality to her lyrics and performance that is just really impressive.

I asked Justine if she still gets butterflies when she performs. Her response?  “ALL THE TIME… and they never go away.” You would never know it from her performance. She exudes confidence. Her star power shines bright… like a diamond. When Justine starting singing Don’t Worry (one of the strongest singles on Emotionally Unavailable, I think), she again engaged with the audience by having us all chime in and sing “I’m good, I’m good”! You could see the back and forth with the audience invigorated her. I asked Justine about this song and engagement with the audience, and she said, “Yes, that’s the song I most love to sing with the audience. Hearing them all together, the collection of voices, is such a beautiful sound. And hearing anyone sing the lyrics to your song is just an incredible feeling.” Justine told me that Don’t Worry was featured in an episode of The Leftovers, which kinda makes perfect sense…
There we several surprises throughout the show, including guest appearances from friends like Jaden Smith, 2 Milly and Kranium. I particularly loved Justine’s SkyeMix version of Justin Beiber’s new song, What do you mean https://soundcloud.com/justineskye/wdymddskyemix.

I ended my interview with this question: What was your favorite part of the night?”. Justine replied, “I loved singing the last song, I’m Yours, which is my most recent single and the song I played at your show.” I, of course, was super excited to hear “I’m Yours” in a different context (although I must admit I’ve been playing it on repeat at the office for a couple of months now already!
Congrats, Justine, on the rest of the tour. Thank you for having me be a part of your evening and for letting me share your special night.  If you don’t know Justine Skye… you will soon enough.  Download her EP. This is an artist you do not want to miss.  She’s an absolute STAR!  
xo
Stacy
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photos / Renell Medrano
story / Stacy Igel