About the artist
This time of year young teens are thinking about taking tests, thinking about finals and Proms, seventeen year-old Justine Dorsey, who tested out of high school at sixteen and is currently in college, is thinking about spreading the word of her EP Unsaid. Then there is a career in music and a tour to plan.
Needless to say, Justine is not your average teenager.
Her maturity also shows in her music – music which has earned her lavish attention and praise and attracted BMI and Grammy award-winning songwriter Randy Sharp as her producer. Randy is a member of the
“Million-Airs club,” for professional songwriters whose songs have been played at least a million times on radio.
This is a seventeen-year-old who cites as inspirations Cole Porter (“one of the greatest songwriters of all time,” says Justine) and The Beatles (“what they had there was magic”), who started singing around the time she started walking, and picked up the guitar at age thirteen.
Ultimately, Justine hopes to see herself following in the footsteps of Taylor Swift, who was also just a teen when she became a star.
“One day my Mom told me about this girl named Taylor Swift, and she said, “Look at this girl – she's so young, but she's writing music and they're good songs! I really think you could do this.” So I googled “how to write a song” and wrote [a song called] “English Rose.” … All I can say is thank God for Taylor. She's opened so many doors for young people in this industry.”
Every once in a while the young girl shows in Justine, like when she says that she hums Disney songs to help calm her nerves before stepping on stage, or when she says that she likes “macarons and rainy weather and Harry Potter a little too much.”
However, when she performs live, audiences are wowed. On stage she is composed, professional and charismatic. Her voice is BIG and her presence electrifying. Fans light up her Facebook page with praise:
“You were wonderful tonight at Pepperland Music. With your sincere and intimate style you have a direct channel to the listener. People work on (creating stage presence) for years.”
“I met you at Gypsy Den tonight. I just finished listening to your CD and it is an amazing piece of art.”
“A rising star!”
Much of that praise is aimed at Justine's new EP, a four-song collection of original music released on May 15, 2012. Sneak previews are available on Justine's Facebook page:www.facebook.com/justinedorsey. “Mama's Song” has been picked up by Internet radio, and the EP- titled “Unsaid” is the single. “I think 'Unsaid' defines me as an artist,” says Justine. “When I finished writing that song, I really under-appreciated it. But then I ended up playing it for people and got such an amazing response.” She now counts "Unsaid" as one of her favorite songs she's ever written.
The EP also includes “Everything That's Beautiful,” which Justine says is a song that “makes me feel so happy,” and “Cliche,” which she says “pushed my ability as a songwriter.”
The poignant and heartfelt themes of Unsaid show a young star on the rise and a remarkably mature performer who writes and sings about subtleties of life, showing wisdom far beyond her years.
“Unsaid” is about “a specific person who came into my life and left a big impression on me, but I never got the chance to tell him. Just as soon as he entered my life, he left it. That sort of thing fascinates me: There are these moments you have with virtual strangers that in the grand scheme of things are just a small blip on the screen. . . but they change you. And they will never know it.”
Lyrics
No One Would Be Alone On Christmas Eve
Find me someone
To hold in my arms
On this cold winter night
Someone who hasn't
Been held for awhile
Lights shine
Out from
Every window of every home
But still one
Remains dark
If I could wrap up my love in ribbons
Package it up
And send it
To strangers far from me
If I could
Put up a tree on every city street
I'd do it in a heartbeat
so one would be alone
on Christmas Eve
Ghosts of Christmases past
Roam the halls
On too silent a night
Slowly he shuts the blinds
And out on the street
There are jingle bells ringing,
so no one can hear him cry
If I could wrap up my love in ribbons
Package it up
And send it
To strangers far from me
If I could
Put up a tree on every city street
I'd do it in a heartbeat
so one would be alone
on Christmas Eve
So this year, if you find yourself without
Your loved ones all around
Just know that I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you
You're not alone
You're not alone
This Christmas Eve