You may not know the name Jenna Andrews, but you know her work as a songwriter, a producer and publisher, and A&R executive working with the likes of BTS, Jennifer Lopez and Ed Sheeran.
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Born in Canada, Jenna signed with Def Jam Records before turning her energy towards other artists, and now she's also working on her own podcast, The Green Room, giving artists a safe space to share the importance of being vulnerable. Jenna spoke with HELLO! about learning from K-Pop icons over WhatsApp, Dixie D'Amelio's debut album and J-Lo's smash movie Marry Me...
Jenna works with the biggest names in music
BTS are the biggest band in the world – what's the process when you're going into a session with a band like that?
It first happened during COVID, so we actually have never met in person. I did the vocal production for Dynamite and Savage Love, the remix, and then Butter and Permission to Dance, so it's really interesting after four songs that we still haven't met in person.
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But it ended up being amazing because we worked over WhatApp, believe it or not, and it just was cool because we were able to communicate with their A&R person there and they would relay to them what we were thinking, so I would sing a bunch of harmonies, or especially on songs like Butter or Permission to Dance, my partner, Stephen Kirk, would sing the voice notes as he has a male voice, which really helps.
Then we send over voice notes and they would ask for certain enunciation things and it was just so much back and forth for about like two months with the format of songs. Yet it worked pretty seamlessly, and they were really cool to work with creatively as they would tell us what they liked and didn't like and also try to be open to trying things.
Jenna has yet to meet BTS
How do you fit your working style to match an artist? Do you find that quite an easy process?
It really is case by case. With BTS, for example, it comes with research, comes with listening to their songs and paying attention to each singer and their tones and where to place them best because they're a band.
But if you're in a room with an artist, then a lot of time it's finding the dynamic or the bond over the music. I find a lot of times the best songs that I've made in my career are deep conversations that just end up being the song.
With someone like Jennifer Lopez who you wrote Church for, was it a collaborative effort?
Oh, my God, yes. We actually met in the studio and we ended up hanging out and becoming friends and she loved that song so much, she changed so much of it and she really made it her own, which I thought was amazing.
And there was another song I have called Bad Things that she loved and she was going to cut it, but ended up using my version of it from my side project for her show Shades of Blue.
It is amazing to work with her. She's just such a great person and she's absolutely all about that female empowerment – I love that about her.
Jennifer and Jenna worked together on the song Church
As well as Jennifer, you've worked with Ed Sheeran for BTS' Permission To Dance, what have you learned from these two performers?
Jennifer is just such a hard worker; with all her success she doesn't have to be that way but she is. I never worked with Ed in the room, but he had that song and BTS wanted me to change the lyrics to suit the band more.
I had been working with the band for so long I already knew what they wanted to say and Ed was really gracious and let me take over and change these lyrics - which actually is massive because obviously he's an incredible lyricist.
Ed is just so kind and between Jennifer and Ed, they are so massive and that really teaches you that humility goes a long way.
What are your plans moving forward with BTS? Are you working on any new material?
I actually am. I can't really say what it is right now – but I am!
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You have also been working with Dixie D'Amelio on her latest album. What is that process when you're working with someone quite new to the music industry?
She came up as an influencer, but loves music, so it was really interesting to be a part of that. She was really interested in expanding herself creatively and just experimenting, and she was very trusting.
Doing a whole album with an artist is a really cool thing to be able to do because you can have continuity. We had a time crunch, we had to finish 15 songs in three months, and so you become family with that person. You're forever close with them.
Dixie and Jenna worked together on Wild
You've been working with TikTok star Jessie Murph as well. How do you choose who you work with?
There has to be something that draws you to it. Jessie has such a special, unique voice, and I think that not only is she a beautiful soul, but her voice is just once in a generation.
I have worked so much with so many females including Little Mix and so with BTS it was really cool to be able to work with a boy band and to be able to play with the harmonies – it's a whole different thing, right?
It challenges you to step up and be able to understand how to work with male singers.
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Jenna with Jade and Leigh-Anne from Little Mix
You have a podcast series The Green Room, available on YouTube, that gives women a space to be vulnerable about the challenges of the industry. Can you talk about the ways that writing sessions can be concerning for women in the industry?
Songwriting can really be a therapeutic experience, and the times that you end up getting the best music is when you go in and you're able to really be vulnerable no matter what you're going through. A lot of times you're meeting strangers, and that can be really intimidating, but if you're going through something super traumatic and you have freedom to tell complete strangers about it, you can end up writing the best song of your life.
But if you're having a panic attack and you're a lawyer or whatever your job maybe is, you can't really comfortably excuse yourself. It's hard to go in there and be like, 'Guys, sorry, I am having a panic attack' because immediately it means you are not strong enough to handle this. So that's why I wanted to create the Green Room.
I feel like not only is it giving a safe space for the artists to talk about how vulnerability has helped them become who they are and how it allowed them to write the best songs that they have potentially ever written, but also for people to watch, and their peers and fans to watch and understand that they're not alone.
Do you feel like it still feels like an old boy's club?
Honestly, I do. At the end of the day, I do believe that there's baby steps that are being made. I'm not the kind of person that ever wants to sort of come across as a victim, but I just think that facts are facts, and our business is made out of men.
You're supposed to be making art and at the same time business comes into play. And then that's where I find the boys club really is something that's very visible in that sense. I feel like I've always been the first that's wanted to be proactive and be able to strive for change and hustle and do these things to actually empower other women, like coaching Jessie Murph or working with Lennon Stella, or Noah Cyrus.
Who would be your dream collaborators? Who would you like to write for?
Lady Gaga. I would love to work with her. I think it would be amazing. Or Bryson Tiller – I think he's amazing. And I would love to work with Justin Bieber.
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