'Writing with Little Mix Was Chaotic and Fun!' Meet Songwriter Jin Jin, The
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This site uses cookies. By continuing, your consent is assumed. Learn more News... but not as you know it News Sport Trending Home Trending News UK World Weird Tech Sport Football Rumour Mill Club Metro Tennis Boxing UFC Entertainment Showbiz TV Film Music Gaming Soaps Lifestyle Sex Fashion Food Travel Video More Lifestyle Blogs Students Discounts Submit stuff Competitions Jobs Property Advertise Search Metro Follow us 120m shares ‘Writing with Little Mix was chaotic and fun!’ Meet songwriter Jin Jin, the woman behind some of the biggest hits exclusive Katie Baillie for Metro.co.ukWednesday 5 Jul 2017 7:50 am Jin Jin is behind some of the charts’ biggest hits Jin Jin is a woman you’ll have been listening to without realising it. Katy Perry advert slammed for animal cruelty as she tells dog to 'chase koalas' She’s the songwriter behind Jess Glynne’s Hold My Hand, Little Mix’s album track Grown, Tinie Tempah’s Girls Like. She’s worked with Craig David, Sean Paul and David Guetta. The music industry is a tough place for women, yet Jin Jin is behind some huge hits and now wants to find the women songwriters of the future. She got into songwriting semi by accident – as a kid she’d hang out in her granddad’s reggae music shop. Then one day she was given a small keyboard and ‘sort of fell into it’, copying the reggae greats by taking a pop song and making it reggae, before starting to write her own stuff. She studied music tech. ‘I didn’t realise there was more than just being a singer. With music there are so many other careers,’ she says. Just casually hanging out with Craig David She’s teamed up with First Direct’s social media channels asking people to share their own original lyrics (and the story behind them) to win a two day masterclass at a professional London recording studio, with Jin Jin. This workshop will take place over Saturday 29 July and Sunday 30 July, and all entries will be judged by Mobo. What was the first song you ever wrote? There was one called What Do You Like About Me. It was super poppy. When I was at college there was a talk and a guy called Simon Aldridge came and he now works with PRS, before that he was with BMI, he came and told us about all the artists he works with. I asked if I could send him some stuff. Then we kept in touch and had a practice session where we wrote that song. How did you get noticed? One of my good friends was doing work experience with Roll Deep’s manager at the time, so she said she’d introduce me. I went down to the studio in Cable Street in east London and there was about 15 guys on laptops, it was quite intimidating. But they were so friendly, Wiley was there. They would have the beat playing and then one by one they would go up and spit like 16 bars and I was like ‘wow.’ Then they asked me to write a hook. The song is called Do Me Wrong , that was my first release. Do you write alone? Jin Jin co-wrote Grown with Little Mix It’s very collaborative. I get really distracted at home so I prefer to collaborate. I tend to always go in with artists and then I can take their stories and what they’re feeling and interpret that and put it into songs. Then I can make it into a subject that can capture a wider audience. They might be like ‘my cat died last night’ and I’ll be like that’s really sad but maybe let’s not make that about the cat, let#s take the subject and make it a bit wider. It’s like being a counsellor! You have to build a relationship as well. So maybe the first session isn’t about writing a massive song it’s about getting to know them. What was it like working with Little Mix? I wrote Grow on Get Weird. They don’t always go into every session, but I always feed off the artist’s energy and it was great having them in the room. Then we could talk like ‘would the Mixers say that’ ‘oh no they wouldn’t relate to that’ or ‘the Mixers would love that’. They were so energetic and fun and chaotic, and the vibe and the energy was so good to have them there. I love to have their personality in the room. How does it feel being a woman behind some of these huge songs? Jin Jin wants to find the songwriters of the future It’s so surreal. It’s something you could only dream of. It’s like it’s not really happening. It’s one thing having an idea in your head and loving what you do, then to express your idea and have someone love it, and have listeners connecting with it. It’s crazy. I haven’t got my head around it, like ‘are you sure?’ More: Music The xx are being lined up as potential Glastonbury headliner Prince's drummer John Blackwell Jr dies aged 43 following battle with brain tumour Lady Gaga defends Ed Sheeran following his decision to quit Twitter over online abuse How can someone else get into it? You have to live and breathe it, practice, hone your craft. I sent Diplo a link to something I did, and one day he followed me. I was so excited, this was the opportunity. So I sent him a message and I didn’t get a response. Then everything I did I sent to him then one time I got a response it was like two years later. Persistence works! Put yourself out there. Ask people to jam on Souncloud, Twitter, Facebook, collaborate. You never know what you’ll come out with. Go to open mic nights. Reach out to other musicians. Network and be in the industry and set yourself goals. Put your singles out there. How will people know about you if you don’t? MORE: Why Iggy Azalea collaborating with Azealia Banks sends an important message MORE: Liam Payne sends fans into a frenzy teasing new single with Zedd coming this week More Little MixNew music Punk-rock power-pop trio Calva Louise are super young and incredible live Who is musician and Little Mix star Jesy Nelson's new romance Harry James? 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