Qld-bred Artist JVMIE Hits #2 On Billboard Dance Chart In US

Not everyone can make the leap from Australia to the United States successfully, but it's safe to say that relocating to Los Angeles last year was the best thing Gold Coast-born-and-bred songstress JVMIE could have done for herself.

Especially so, now that her most recent song, Back 2 Love — a collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Dave Audé — has climbed to the lofty heights of the #2 spot on Billboard's Dance Club Songs Chart in the US.

The song broke through to the chart 11 weeks ago, steadily making its way up the rankings to hit #3 recently before stepping up another rung to this week's seriously impressive result. It's also climbing its way up the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, where it sits just outside the top 30, at #31, having moved up from last week.

JVMIE — AKA Jamie Lee Wilson — relocated to LA after a period of back-and-forth between Europe and the US, with the singer-songwriter telling The Music that "every time I went to LA, good things would happen".

"I met with some incredible producers like Joachim Garraud (David Guetta) and Bob Sinclair, and it was really exciting," she said. "And then there was this amazing, creative scene in Los Angeles, where everyone is there, working hard, following their dreams; I just fell in love with the place."

LA — or one of its residents, at least — had fallen in love with JVMIE's voice, too, and her collaboration with the California-dwelling Audé came about through further fortuitous circumstances, she says.

"Whoever said that men can’t multitask obviously hasn’t spent a day with Dave!"

"I was actually a big fan of Dave Audé’s remixes and I found out that he featured one of my songs, Fuel To The Fire, on his radio show as the Track Of The Week," JVMIE told The Music.

"I was super-excited and sent him an email to say thanks.

"He asked if I was interested in doing an interview for his radio show, and then when we got chatting over the phone, he said, 'Next time you’re in LA, come by the studio. I’d love to work with you and introduce you to some people over here.' So, I booked my ticket!"

"Working with Dave has been amazing," she continued. "He’s not only a solid producer, but he’s also a great musician and a really hard worker. I’ve learned a lot about the industry from him.

"When you’re in the studio with Dave, the phone is constantly ringing and the emails are constantly coming in. Whoever said that men can’t multitask obviously hasn’t spent a day with Dave!"

"It was one of those songs that wrote itself."

The creative collaboration's success is undoubtedly the result of a lot of hard work, though to hear JVMIE tell it, the actual process of creating the song was remarkably smooth and organic.

"There are some songs that just feel like an uphill battle when you’re writing them and the songwriting becomes a real process, [but] Back 2 Love came so easily!" she enthused. "It was one of those songs that wrote itself. We just let flow over an afternoon in Dave's studio and, by the end of the day, we had the majority of it down and recorded.

"We were definitely excited when we finished it, but it wasn’t until the feedback came in after releasing it on an Audacious compilation album, that we realised that other people were vibing on it as much as we were."

Though she's well and truly ingraining herself in the LA culture, JVMIE recently returned to Australia to continue her work with north Queensland rap group the Gowrie Boys, comprised of a group of students from St Teresa's College, in Abergowrie (hence the name), who she has helped mentor over the past four years.

In this capacity, too — since starting with them as a producer on the group's 2013 track Tomorrow's Heroes, through their eighth and most recent single, What We Came For — her growing Midas touch is evident.

"A friend of mine, Christian Gordon, was working up at the college in Abergowrie," she explained of her involvement with the group. "He was the instigator of the Gowrie Boys; it turned into this incredible project!

"They walk in shy little schoolboys and walk out proud, with confidence."

"He asked me to come up and work with the boys on the next song ... It was such a great experience and, then, when the song was released it was picked up for rage and NITV, and was nominated for Film Clip of the Year at the NIMAs.

"The most rewarding aspect of the project is seeing their development over the process and helping to give these kids an avenue to express themselves," she continued.

"I come in with a track and then meet the group of around eight to 10 kids, and work with them on discovering what they want to say in the song.

"The brainstorming process is incredible, they really open up. It’s the first time most of them have done this sort of thing, or worked on music before. They walk in shy little schoolboys and walk out proud, with confidence."

"It’s a completely new vibe for me."

With her return to the US imminent at the end of the week, there's no sign of slowing down in the near future, either; JVMIE has a trip to Europe lined up next month — she won't be back to Australia until the end of the year — and also has "about five new tracks up my sleeve ready to go".

In addition to her house music pursuits, her new downtempo side project is also starting to pick up steam, with her new tune, Follow You, broaching new sonic territory for the Queenslander.

"It’s a completely new vibe for me and I’m really excited about it!" she told The Music. "We shot a video for it in Joshua Tree National Park in California, and I’ll be releasing that next month."

To stay on top of JVMIE's future releases, you can connect with her on Facebook.