Ella Jane on Coming of Age Classics and Her New Single ”I Wanna”
Photo by Maddy Rotman
[UNPUBLISHED:] What was the inspiration behind your song “I Wanna?”
[ELLA JANE:] On a basic level, the inspiration pretty much just came from me being fed up with being single. I’ve only ever been in “things” and situationships, which I feel like a lot of people my age can relate to. Admitting that you want to be in love feels so vulnerable and almost embarrassing to say out loud, but belting it out again and again in such an energetic chorus makes the words empowering.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What was your process for creating this single?
[ELLA JANE:] My songwriting process is usually pretty slow and drawn out for a long time before the song comes together in full; “I Wanna” was no exception. I wrote the first chorus from my freshman dorm room, and never found a home for it until nearly two years later during a random session in Los Angeles. I was facing a lot of writer’s block at the time, but as I frantically scrolled through my voice memos for ideas, I stumbled upon that chorus and instantly knew it was the song I needed to make. That day, we sketched out the bones, loosely shaping verse chords and bridge ideas. I got home to New York the next week and stayed up all night finishing the lyrics from my childhood bed. It took a long time to convince most people of my vision for this song, but my producer Mike understood it instantly - the rest was easy from there. It just felt so natural because we both believed in the song so much.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What’s your favorite lyric from the song?
[ELLA JANE:] I’m so proud of the first verse! I’m such a sucker for really visceral metaphors, so “intoxicating eyes, chemical contact high” is a favorite. I also think that the first pre-chorus, “when it comes to fires, they die first, or someone puts them out” encapsulates the nature of a fling really well.
[UNPUBLISHED:] When I listened to the song, I felt like I was in a coming-of-age film. If your song could be featured in a coming-of-age movie, which would it be and why?
[ELLA JANE:] Probably Booksmart. To me, it’s one of the only movies I’ve seen that truly captures how it feels to be a teenager of this generation in an accurate and empathetic way. For that reason, I think “I Wanna” would fit really well. After all, its main characters spend the duration of the film yearning to have these “mature” experiences. So they would probably relate to the song. On a lighter note, the soundtrack is just incredible, so selfishly I would love to be in such good company.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What are some of your favorite coming-of-age movies?
[ELLA JANE:] Moonrise Kingdom, Juno, Booksmart, Lady Bird, Moonlight, Perks of Being a Wallflower. Honorary mention for the Hulu show Pen15.
