After releasing his debut single 'The Day That You Left' earlier in 2020, Melbourne pop artist Jake Marra returns with his new song 'Medicine'.
Co-written with and produced by Ben Oldland, the track revolves around themes of codependency as Jake explains."Having someone you enjoy being around is great, but when you can't handle being on your own and become addicted to another person, you're in big trouble," Jake says.
"Realising I could channel my pain into catchy pop songs was the best discovery I've ever made."
Who is Jake Marra? I've been musical my entire life (so cliché, I know!) but the difference is that I honestly had no idea I was any good at it. It was something I did in secret. Eventually, I started to realise I might have something to offer.
I started two YouTube channels. One for singing covers, and one for mash-ups I produced. In 2015, my mash-up of Ariana Grande's 'One Last Time' and Justin Bieber's 'What Do You Mean?' went viral, resulting in articles being written by Billboard, MTV and Teen Vogue to name a few.
In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Ariana Grande herself said she was "obsessed with it" and that "whoever did that is a genius".
Since then, I've performed at various venues/ festivals with Sunshine and Disco Faith Choir, as a backing vocalist for Melbourne R&B singer-songwriter JAYDEAN, and released my debut single 'The Day That You Left'.
I sound like... My sound is an amalgamation of all the artists who have inspired me over the years: Britney Spears, Dua Lipa, Troye Sivan, Allie X, Charli XCX, Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen. Just a big melting pot of pop goodness.
My first gig was... Actually part of a university assessment. I studied music at AIM, and for one of our required classes we were put into different bands and had to come up with a set list of covers and perform it live at The Gasometer Hotel in Collingwood.
It was a mix of pop, rock, R&B and jazz, and it was truly such a fun experience. I'd never performed onstage with a band before and it really helped me find my confidence as a performer.
In the studio I usually… I'm quite timid to begin with when I'm in the studio. I'm a perfectionist and an over-thinker, so the thought of sharing a bad idea is the end of the world to me. Once I shake all that off, I truly light up. Being in the studio and making music is where I belong and I wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world.
If I could tour with anyone... It would have to be Ariana Grande. I saw her live for the very first time when The Dangerous Woman Tour came to Melbourne in 2017 and she smashed it outta the park: serving looks, killer live arrangements, fierce dance breaks.
It was everything I could want from a pop show and being able to be a part of that every night would be a dream come true. I also feel like we'd have a real cute time behind the scenes, talking mad sh.t and living our best lives.
Social media is... When I'm not promoting music, my social media is pretty much the same as everyone else. Very white, suburban mum documenting her daily activities.
Social media tends to paint a much glossier, often fake, picture of people's lives and as nice as it is to look at and as great as it is to have a 'brand”', I'm still a human being. If I wanna post a video of me eating a boiled egg, I'm going to.
My favourite app at the moment is... Uber Eats, 100 per cent. I live in Melbourne and we're still under some pretty tight restrictions, so you better believe I'm going to order anything and everything I can possibly think of and live my best isolation life, honey.
To date, my most embarrassing moment was the time... As someone who makes a fool of themselves more often than not, it's hard to pinpoint standout moments, but pretending to be straight for 19 years was quite embarrassing. Would not recommend.
Life on the road can be... I literally wouldn't know! I haven't had the opportunity to be able to go on tour yet, it's still a bit early in my music journey. The only experience I've had on the road is driving to McDonald's and back again.
If you'll have me on your bill, all I ask is that the rider contains... A Zinger Box from KFC. Hands down. The combination of a Zinger Burger, chips, potato & gravy, and three iconic, legendary Wicked Wings is truly a gift to us all. Find me something better than you can get for $11.45. I dare you.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be spokesperson for you? The iconic legend that gave us WAP, Miss Cardi B.
I can picture it now. She opens up her Instagram story to film, 6-inch nails on each of her fingers, a plethora of random sound effects in her back catalogue, and goes on a three-minute rant about why I'm 'that bitch'. What more could you ask for?!
If you had to live in a city abroad, where would you choose and why? I've always liked the idea of moving to London for a year or two. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch from living in Melbourne, and it puts me in such close proximity to so many amazing European destinations that I want to visit.
Three people you'd like to invite around for a dinner party? 1: Cardi B. Her personality is just unmatched and I feel like she'd have so many wild stories to tell and I need to hear all of them.
2: Max Martin. One of my favourite writers/ producers of all time. The man is a genius and I desperately want to pick his brain about all things music.
3: Britney Spears. The first album I ever owned was 'Oops… I Did It Again' and I've been obsessed ever since. She's had such a tumultuous journey in her 20-plus year career and that's only based off what we DO know. There must be so many things we don't know about her life and I'd love to hear her speak candidly about everything.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? Spaghetti bolognese. It's my favourite thing to cook. It's literally so easy to make, but packs so much flavour. At least it does when I make it. I've had some shocking ones in my time, but we won't go there. When COVID-19 goes away, you're all invited over!
The last time I saw the inside of a gym was… **SCREAMS** I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!
What's the one chore you dislike the most? Changing my sheets. Ugh! Why does it feel like I've run a marathon by the end of it? Why does the fitted sheet never fit quite right? Am I missing something?! AHHHHH!
Do you have any phobias... please explain? Moths. God really said: "Okay, hear me out: Butterflies, but make them EVIL!" The little ones are okay, I guess. I still don't like them, but the big ones?! DELETE THEM FROM EXISTENCE.
I can't even explain the feeling of dread when I see one of those big-bodied bitches in my room at night. Who invited you?! Do you pay rent here, sir? GET OUT!
Would you ever partake in a reality show? If so, what type? I just want to reach that level of success where most of the general public has no idea who I am, but I still have a substantial enough audience that I'm asked to go on 'The Masked Singer'.
I wanna perform in one of those ridiculous costumes and when my identity gets revealed upon elimination have most people be like: "Who?" but a few that go, "OMG, I know him!"
If you could prank any of your friends, who's your target, and how are you bringing them down? I'm probably not someone who would prank one of my friends, but I definitely wouldn't rule out doing something super petty to someone who got on my bad side.
I saw a TikTok that said you should buy a bunch of keys and attach tags to them with your target's phone number on them. Then, go around town and drop keys everywhere in hopes that people will pick them up and call your target about dropping their key. They're hopefully going to be inundated with calls about keys and they'll have no idea what's going on. So mean, so petty, so iconic!
