Jeannie Ortega Interview: Previews ‘Musical Memoir’ & 20 Years of Artistry

Jeannie Ortega Interview: Pop star Jeannie Ortega once stood at the height of mainstream music culture, but she ultimately walked away to pursue a higher calling. Best known for her smash hit single “Crowded,” Ortega initially used music as an escape from a dark mental space.

“I started off in music as a way for it to take me out of my current state,” Ortega shared. “I didn’t want to be here anymore, and music saved my life. So I went into music, I, oddly enough, became popular, had a hit song, and my little dreams had come true. But I still found myself empty and searching for more. It didn’t fill the God-shaped void that I had in my heart. So in the height of my career, I actually had an encounter with God and His presence. And that was an ultimate game changer for me, which would eventually switch the trajectory of my life.”

Walking Away

Chasing world fame lost its appeal instantly after that divine intervention. Ortega made the radical choice to leave the mainstream industry behind. It was at a time when most artists pushed for more visibility.

“I walked away because I had realized that music and my initial goal of wanting to make music to help people had shifted,” Ortega explained. “I became a people pleaser, and I wanted to give people what they wanted, not what they needed. When I really discovered God and that He had a plan for my life, I didn’t want anything to stand in the way of that. So I was willing to walk away from music altogether and never sing again if that would have gotten me closer to God, because I realized my need for God. It wasn’t hard in the moment because I wanted more of this God I was just discovering.”

She continued, “Like I had never known peace, and now with Him, I found peace. I had never felt really understood, and now with Him, my life was making sense. I had all this success, and now I knew what my purpose was despite my success. And that, to me, there was no comparison to the shallow successes of this world. So it really wasn’t difficult because I was chasing after God who had always made me for that exact purpose.”

Jeannie Ortega

Seeing the Forgotten and Expanding the Worldview

Following her exit from the mainstream market, Ortega filled her life with diverse roles. She worked as a television host, journalist, and active minister alongside her husband. These experiences altered how she approached songwriting.

“I think all of those instances have expanded my worldview, and it’s helped me to see life on a larger scale, understand people differently, and all of that I know has definitely sharpened my ability to be a minister,” Ortega reflected. “To be relatable to others and to be able to sit at the table with anybody. So, yeah, I think that me being exposed to so many different facets of life, it just expands my repertoire. Like, I’m able to dig deeper and really have a broader understanding of the human experience, which does really help for content, for music writing.”

That broadened empathy directly birthed her new single, “Never Forgotten.” The track specifically targeted the isolated, drawing inspiration from both biblical mandates and personal trials.

Presave “Never Forgotten.”

“Jesus calls us to take care of the orphans and the widows,” Ortega stated. “And as ministers now, my husband and I, we really feel called to take care of children in foster care, really take care of those that find themselves alone later in their lives. And there’s a resounding truth for both of those groups, the orphans and the widows, that even though they may feel like they are forgotten, they are not. They’re not forgotten by God. They’re seen by God. And even in my own life, I can see how the loneliest moments that I’ve had, the truth still remained. I was never forgotten. God was with me. He was getting me through. He was guiding me through. And that’s really why this song came about.”

Jeannie Ortega

Erasing Isolation through a Musical Memoir

Ortega intended the track to serve as a weapon against the psychological warfare of rejection. She designed the music to remind listeners of their inherent value.

“I hope it gives them a sense of belonging,” Ortega said. “I think that people who feel forgotten, you know, battle with deep rejection and isolation. And I just want everyone to know that they’re a part of something much bigger, and only the enemy wants them to feel isolated and alone and lie to them in that way. But God has such a beautiful purpose and plan for their lives, and if they could know that they belong to something bigger, then it would just help them in their own development, their own identity, their own value and worth. And I just really want people to feel encouraged and strengthened that no matter what they’re going through and no matter who is there, physically, God is always there and has a beautiful plan for their lives.”

Looking toward her upcoming creative endeavors, Ortega revealed a major project that bridged her past and present. She planned to package her story into a completely unique multi-chapter format.

“I’m very excited to share that I am in the process of releasing a musical memoir,” Ortega concluded. “It’ll be comprised of five chapters, all with different eras of my life that I wanna use to help mentor people through their own human experiences. It’s music that stands from the last 20 years of my life. I’m just so excited to be able to release it to the world now and also to use it for a greater good.”

This Jeannie Ortega interview was sourced from Jubileecast. She is signed to Infiltrate Music.