Jessica Van Wood

Jessica Van Wood (born May 11th, 1991) is a pop/country-pop singer from Nashville, Tennessee. Jessica entered the spotlight in April, 2012 and hasn't budged since. Her debut single, Close Your Eyes was released May 7th, 2012. She released the song independently, but has since acquired a record deal with Blacklight Records.

Early life
Jessica Van Wood was born May 11th, 1991 in Nashville, Tennessee to parents Stephen and Carole. She has two younger sisters, Amy (born 1995) and Faith (born 1998). Jessica and her sisters maintain a close bond. Jessica moved to the outskirts of Nashville at the age of 5. Her parents still live in the same house she grew up in. In high school, Jessica was shunned for being a free spirit. Teachers disliked and tried to control her creative outlets by forcing her to sit still and have no writing utensils or music. Her peers also denied her. Jessica admitted that she had very few friends because they all liked make-up and parties, but Jessica just liked singing, writing, drawing and acting. She attended NSU for graphic design starting 2009.

Early career
Jessica's first career option was graphic designer. She went to NSU and graduated with a degree. Just before going to her first interview, her little sister Faith asked for a song. After singing for her, Jessica felt good about herself. Instead of going to her interview, she went to have a meeting with Saturdays Records. She sang four of her own written songs for them. The company told her that she was forgettable and didn't have a big enough voice to survive in the music industry. Heartbroken, Jessica left with no music success, and no job. In 2010, she got a job as a graphic artist for Google. She didn't reattempt the music scene until 2012, when she sang at a karaoke bar in Nashville. After getting rave reviews, she decided to independently release her first single, Close Your Eyes. She received a record deal the day her single was released from Blacklight Records. Jessica quit her job at Google to focus on her music career.

Vanity era
Jessica released her debut single Close Your Eyes on May 7th, 2012. The single has received mixed to positive reviews. Most reviewers make note of the sad, touching piano background and the sorrowful tone in Jessica's voice. The lyrics are sometimes criticized for being repetitive and cheesy. Jessica announced that her next single will be a completely different song. Jessica announced her second single would be the upbeat 'screw-you but I love you' song, Chained To You. To promote the song, Jessica performed at several venues on the west coast including San Diego and Las Vegas. She also released a line of keychains, entitled "Keychained To You". The available styles were the album cover, the single cover, Jessica in the music video and the man from the music video. Each keychain's sales went directly to charity. Jessica went overseas for the first time after the music video's release and performed at the Royal Albert Hall to rave reviews.

Personal life
Jessica has been relatively quiet and low key about her personal life. She is currently single and has not established many friendships in the URAPS world. "I'm really not making many friends! I mean, there's people I like, and some people that I think are cute, but I'm not really making any close acquaintances! It sucks, cause these people all seem really nice. I guess it's cause we're all busy and have our own lives. It kinda seems like I go out, work, come home and complain a lot! I actually have never had a boyfriend. I'm kinda shy, and I'm intimidated by people that I like. I kinda have a crush on someone, but that's not gonna happen *laughs*"