Jenna Raine Simmons was born with a passion for music, and she’s living her dream as a teen singer, social media star, and member of the girl band L2M.

Everly Mag talked to Jenna all about how L2M started, the artist who inspire her sound, her dreams for her career, and what’s next for the teen musical artist.

Everly Mag: How did you discover your passion for music?

Jenna: I have always loved music and singing.  I think I was created with a passion for music, and it just grew as I did.

My parents say I was dancing, otherwise known as bouncing, before I could walk.  I would sing constantly around the house, the car, or wherever we were.  When I was 4 and learning how to ski, I remember following my parents down the mountain singing Britney Spears.  In third grade, I decided to enter the school talent show.  I announced 2 weeks before the show that I was going to play piano and sing a song by Adele.  I had no clue how to play or sing Rolling in the Deep, but that’s what I wanted to do.  My mom was a nervous wreck!  I learned the basic chords from my piano teacher and practiced quite a bit for those two weeks.  The day came, and I walked right up onstage and sang my heart out.  I loved every single minute of it!

Everly Mag: Which singers or music artists inspire you?

Jenna: There are a lot of singers and music artists that inspire me.  A couple that I really love are Ed Sheeran and Kari Jobe.  Ed Sheeran inspires me because he started out plyaing on the streets and worked very hard to get where he is, and his songwriting is AMAZING.  I have been inspired to write songs myself, and although I haven’t done too much songwriting yet, it’s definitely a passion of mine that I plan to keep developing.  Kari Jobe has been my favorite singer since I was little.  I’ve been singing along with her as far back as I can remember.

Everly Mag: How did you get started on social media?

Jenna: At first, social media was just something fun.  It was a way to stay in touch with my family and friends.  They could keep up with me and all that I was doing.

When my group L2M began, we started to gain fans!  It was crazy.  Then, I started a Musical.ly account and began to get featured.  Next, I got crowned and everything just started to grow.  I started focusing on my Instagram and posting more singing videos.

Now that I have some loving and caring fans who want more, I created my own YouTube channel.  I post covers on there as well as challenges and vlogs.  I also have Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat.

Everly Mag: What’s the best thing about social media?  What’s the worst thing?

Jenna: I love social media because it’s a way to connect with my fans.  Every chance I get, I try to respond to DMs or check out their edits.

One thing I hate about social media is how much work it is.  I love it, but when it comes to taking pictures, it takes forever!  I try to post every single day, but sometimes I just give up on perfecting photos.

Everly Mag: How can young people make social media a better place?

Jenna: I feel like young people can make social media a better place if they stop hating on others.  Most of the hate comes from jealousy, and I don’t think anybody should be jealous of anyone.  Everyone is perfect and unique just the way they are.  They should love and embrace themselves and others!

Everly Mag: What are the top 3 moments of your career so far?

Jenna: Definitely the beginning of my girl band L2M, and [also] when we got to perform our first concert in Los Angeles, which was the best experience in the whole entire world!  I love performing.  It’s what I’ve been dreaming of ever since I was a little kid and I can’t even believe that it came true!

Third, filming the YouTube Red series Hyperlinked.  It is a true story based on friends who create their own website, Miss O and Friends.  We got to act, sing, and dance!  I totally fell in love with acting while doing the show.

Everly Mag: What’s your favorite song and music genre?

Jenna: If I had to choose one song, which is really hard to do, I would pick “Funny” by Tori Kelly or “Supermarket Flowers” by Ed Sheeran.  I love the singer-songwriter style of music because I enjoy songs that tell a story.

Everly Mag: Tell us about your girl band L2M.  How did you get started?

Jenna: L2M started through auditions.  They were looking for girls who could sing, act, and dance.  We all auditioned in different cities to be part of something for Lego.  We didn’t have all the details at the time.  When we found out that we made it, we learned that we would be the singing voices of the Lego Friends characters.  We recorded our first song Girlz for the movie Lego Friends: Girlz for Life.  We ended up singing some songs for the TV episodes as well.  From there, the management team decided to make us into a singing group.  L2M stands for Listening to Music!

When we all met, there was an instant click.  We are close in age so we bonded really well.  I am happy to be able to call them my best friends!  We love working and spending time together.

Everly Mag: What have you accomplished with L2M?

Jenna: We’ve accomplished so much.  We’ve created music for Lego friends, a Target commercial, and have recorded songs with Dawin.  We recently released our latest single, Tag Me In, which was written and produced by Dawin. So far, our fans are loving the song and music video!  We have another song and video coming out at the end of May.

Everly Mag: What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

Jenna: I hope to go on tour!  That’s one dream I’ve always had.  Going on an L2M tour would be unbelievable.  Our fans can start looking forward to new music!  We have more singles coming, but we will hopefully have an album coming soon.

Everly Mag: Describe your personality in 5 words.

Jenna: Goofy, confident, ambitious, loyal, and friendly.

Everly Mag: What do you like to do when you’re not singing?

Jenna: I love sports!  Before I started singing, I played softball for 10 years and it was really hard for me to give it up.  I had to pick which one I loved more – music or softball.  It was a very difficult decision.  I knew what I wanted for the future, though, so I had to focus more on my future career [and] I chose music.

I also love hanging out with my family and playing beach volleyball, skiing and snowboarding, and going on hikes.  Since I love softball so much, I started playing dodgeball for fun.  I’ve always loved dodgeball, and so did my friends, but at some point they grew out of it and I didn’t – oh well, I play without them!  I will literally go to a trampoline park and play dodgeball with people I don’t even know, that’s how much I love it!

When I’m with my friends, we go to amusement parks, see movies, go roller skating, and sometimes we just have random dance-offs.

Everly Mag: Lastly, tell us some of your favorite things!

Jenna:  Favorite movie?  La La Land, Beauty and the Beast, and The Greatest Showman.  Oh, and Jumanji.  Favorite book?  Harry Potter series and The Outsiders.  Favorite school subject?  Math.  Favorite food?  Do milkshakes count?!  Milkshakes – and Italian food!  Favorite place to travel?  Utah.  Favorite sport?  Softball and baseball.  Favorite YouTuber?  Liza Koshy.  Favorite celebrity?  Ed Sheeran, Tori Kelly, or Emma Watson.  Favorite game? Clue.

Find Jenna Raine Simmons on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

If you liked this interview, you might also enjoy reading:

• Interview: Actress Maya Jade Frank
• Madysyn Rose on Singing, Reality TV, and What Inspires Her
• Our Top 5 YouTube Videos This Week
• Interview: Bianca and Chiara D’Ambrosio

Check out Everly Mag on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

Feature Image Credit: Chad Brady