Jamie Fine’s uncanny ability to convey intense emotions in such a relatable manner musically is truly a superpower. Jamie’s unconventional art and persona have paid off. After leaving her former label and becoming a solo artist, Jamie has gone on to achieve over 100 million global streams, double-platinum status, and 1.5 million followers worldwide. Comedic, self-deprecating and unfiltered, Jamie is proving authenticity is the name of the game today.
Jamie Fine, the TikTok sensation. Thank you for joining me.
Jamie Fine: I promise for those reading I did not pay him to say that.
If you want to start out on a spooky note, my mother predicted this interview. She asked me how my interview with Jamie Fine went. I had no clue what she was talking about, and then she realized she dreamt that conversation. Turns out it encouraged me to reach out and ended up becoming real. Here we are now — and I was even with you backstage recently and a part of your pep circle talk before you hit the stage.
JF: I’m everybody’s mom’s favorite artist, you know? That’s what the running joke is.
Your story is interesting because you were the first season winner of CTV’s The Launch. Initially, you were in a duo band, Elijah Woods and Jamie Fine. Ultimately, you broke up and became a solo artist, which led to becoming a five-time Juno nominee and garnering over 100 million global streams. Did you ever think when you went on The Launch that you’d be where you’re at today?
JF: The Launch was something I was reluctant to do. I didn’t want to be pigeonholed and stigmatized as just another singer from a competition TV show. To be blunt, I was very much pushed into it. I don’t believe in skipping steps because I think you will retrace them regardless. I’d rather build a solid foundation brick by brick. With my old team, their mentality was, this is going to let us skip steps. I would tell them how I don’t think that’s going to work out the way they all think it’s going to, and unfortunately, I was right.
Ultimately, I did the show to skip steps, yet it did not work out that way. After the breakup, I had to take the following few years to undo the stigma and rebuild my own story. The one silver lining is most of the people who knew me from the show were Canadians.
I feel like a lot of people know you because of your solo material, at least as far as the United States and other countries are concerned. Outsiders are not familiar with the show, which is a plus for you.
JF: I’ll forever be thankful for a lot of things that gave me that initial foundation. It got me here. It was a catalyst for people to get to know me. It allowed me to book stages and festivals, and to progress as a performer.
Would you say you reinvented yourself, or rather, were finally able to be who you authentically are as an artist without label execs and TV producers tainting your image?
JF: With my former team, I really lost who I was, and I stopped trusting my gut. I kind of listened to what everybody else wanted me to be, wanted me to say and wanted me to do. Ironically, throughout my entire life, the thing that I’ve trusted the most is my gut. But I forgot about that for a few years. To your point, instead of reinventing myself, I just went back to trusting who I want to be in this world, and that was the best feeling.
Your story is a lesson that it was not the marketing ploy that blew you up, but rather, your authentic music and unfiltered TikToks that made you so popular internationally.
JF: Thank you for saying that. I think people crave authenticity right now. The world is full of a lot of heaviness currently. People want something honest and relatable. I want to be who I am authentically and unforgivably. The people who are meant to find me will find me. I can’t embody this perfect celebrity persona on social media and attempt to mimic everyone else.
The economy is bad, we are on the verge of World War III, and everything feels polarizing. People want something they can connect with. The fad of embodying a faux societal norm of perfection is fading. The Kardashian copycat era is ending. The manosphere influencers have all been exposed as pedophiles, drug addicts and closeted self-loathing homosexuals. Things are shifting.
JF: Exactly. People yearn for something that can make them feel OK and less lonely for a moment. That is what I want my music to be for people. When I went solo, I made the decision to be real. I made a conscious decision to let my journal out into the world. I feel like if you don’t want to do that, you have no business being in the industry. Also, I’ve always been passionate about speaking up, and rarely afraid to do so. It is important for me to use my voice and platform. Everybody has a freaking opinion these days, right? In a world where everyone has a freaking opinion, I’m not afraid to share mine.
Mental health, bullying, discrimination, same-sex relationships: you touch on a lot of real topics, albeit they can still be perceived as controversial. When you went solo, were you initially trepidatious to discuss such topics given how conservative the climate became though your popularity rose circa 2022 through 2025? Moreover, can you share your own experiences with these subjects?
JF: I was going to say the most vocal people are people who have gone through things, then I think back to all the names you referred to in your previous question, and realize that’s definitely not the case [laughs] which is the problem in the world. Especially right now!
I believe in getting through things by facing life head on. I’m not naive to how lucky I am. I have experienced a lot of mental health struggles, I have been bullied heavily, yet I’ve always tried to not allow it to make me feel insecure. I’m a firm believer in fully accepting who you are as opposed to faking it ‘til you make it. Once you accept who you are, the world starts looking different. You don’t forget what you went through, but you don’t allow it to hold you down forever.
Once I found my people and my safe space, life improved. We shouldn’t be teaching people that bullying doesn’t exist, especially now, because it’s always going to exist.
Bullying has never been more prevalent than it is right now. Just look at social media. Bigots are much more empowered now to be nasty because they feel there are no repercussions. You have hateful political influencers who also encourage this behavior.
JF: Keyboard warriors are at an all-time high. There’s never been more hate in the world, yet there’s also never been more love in the world. We’re just in a weird time.
I went from being somebody who doesn’t know who the hell they are in the world to now being firm about who I am in the world, and my life just completely did a 180 when I stopped giving a fuck about the noise. If a close friend I love calls me out, I am going to be conscious of that and make changes if I did something wrong. If a stranger comments I am a fat slob on social media, I am going to dust my shoulders off.
My point is to only prioritize those who you love, and don’t let the hateful world we are living in affect you.
Switching gears to the tour, 2026 marks your first United States headlining tour, and you have been touring all year long at that. Calum Scott even tapped you as the opening act of his North American leg in the midst of this. With more dates added, including more dates in New York and Philadelphia in October, what can fans expect?
JF: Oh my God, we’re psychotic! We perform pop music yet are rock and guitar heavy. I interact regularly with the crowd. It is half comedy, half music in a way. It is basically what you expect from me.
Referencing what we spoke about earlier, I like being a safe space for people, I want people to be able to buy a ticket, come to the show that night, and just forget about everything. We’ve never done a tour like this. We’re meeting fans who have been waiting a few years for us to get to their city. Seeing people fly in from all over the country, as corny as it sounds, has been something I’ve dreamt of for a really long time.
My boys, my band I’ve been playing with for eight years, are savoring every moment of this. At the end of the show, I always say tonight is not about the bills you need to pay, or the relationships that need solving, it’s about you. I’m also excited to keep exploring opportunities including Prides within the U.S.
It is clear from your social media that you love to cook. Hence, I thought it was impressive to learn how you studied culinary management and previously started your own catering business before music became your full-time career. Would you ever do something with food in the future? I can foresee a Food Network-style show.
JF: OK, baby, don’t flirt with me [laughs]. I would love to do that. Funnily enough, I’m currently in talks with a network to potentially host something. Cooking is such a big part of my content online. I’m looking for a food truck right now to buy because I want to incorporate that into my tours. I have this dream where every show I perform, my food truck is outside the venue, and I have VIP packages where I cook for you.
