Dinah Jane: Unfiltered, Raw, and True
Words By Zach Collier
Photos Courtesy of Dinah Jane
JUICE COUNTY: VOLUME 1 sees former Fifth Harmony member Dinah Jane authentically embracing her unique, powerful, and beautiful identity. And she’s doing it independently.
Dinah Jane’s career has been full of highs. From her successful run on season 2 of The X Factor through her tenure as a member of the best-selling girl group Fifth Harmony, the California native achieved success most musicians could only dream of. Even after the group announced their hiatus in 2018, Dinah Jane’s solo releases like “Bottled Up” (featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Marc E. Bassy) still made a significant splash and hinted at what she was capable of as a vocal powerhouse.
Still, her remarkable career has not been without its lows. In an interview with Zach Sang, Dinah Jane discussed the identity crisis she had on the set of the "Bottled Up" music video. She discussed the frustration of others not being able to properly identify or understand her ethnicity, as well as the constant balancing act between being a woman of faith while embracing a sexy pop star persona.
When I connected with Dinah Jane, she was on a family road trip to the Hoover Dam in Nevada. “This was sort of a last minute trip and we rarely get to all be together these days, so this trip has been fun making memories with them,” she told me.
She described walking the Hoover Dam in 100 degree weather and walking alongside a busy highway as trippy. They tried to get the full tourist experience but the wind kept getting worse the longer they stayed. “But the scenery was so breathtaking!” she said. Her dad explained the history of the Hoover Dam and the city next door that used to house the workers who built it. “My dad is a historian so I’d say he was a great tour guide.”
The conversation drifted to Dinah Jane’s early solo ventures and the aforementioned identity crisis she shared with Zach Sang. I asked her if things had improved at all in the time since that interview.
“I spent the last few years strengthening my personal relationship with God,” Dinah Jane said. “It was difficult trying to please so many people and now I'm focused on pouring back into me and knowing that God's love is constant and everlasting. The mere fact that I open my eyes every morning lets me know He loves me.”
Dinah Jane has had a lot to juggle in her life, but lately she’s learned to put herself first. “You can’t live and enjoy this life to the fullest if you’re living in a lie trying to please others,” she explained. “And I'm so glad I’ve gotten to this point now rather than never.”
“Being the first Polynesian pop star used to feel like so much pressure and affected my mental health due to all the critical comments, especially at such a young age. I was literally growing up in the eye of the media. But I've learned to release that pressure and simply be me. I don't hold back anymore because Polynesian stories deserve to be told: unfiltered, raw, and true.”
That unfiltered, raw, and true sound is ever-present on Dinah Jane’s latest record, JUICE COUNTY: VOLUME 1. When she first became a solo artist, there were a lot of people to answer to. Coming from Fifth Harmony was both a blessing and a curse.
“There were so many chefs in the kitchen when it came to my music. I had to answer to the chairmen, A&R’s, family, etc. Everyone had an opinion,” she told me. “Although I’m grateful that so many people believed in me, it made me feel like a robot. And sometimes it felt as if my voice alone wasn’t as thick and valuable as theirs combined. I had presented visions and ideas that separated me from others by simply and uniquely representing who and where I come from and that related so well to the music I was creating at the time. But of course, they were shut down.”
Dinah Jane grew frustrated as her original ideas were swapped out for recycled ideas or attempts at matching general trends in the industry. Her loss of identity, coupled with mounting pressure from too many different parties, ultimately led Dinah Jane to strike out on her own as an independent artist.
“When I decided to be an independent artist, my team and I focused on my story and what I wanted to portray through my music,” said Dinah Jane. “I wanted to return to my roots and the genres that I’ve loved and grew up on. We Polynesians love reggae music, so I wanted to incorporate that into my very first EP.”
“Through this process I’ve learned to trust in my art and my craft. When I see little brown skin Polynesian girls singing my music and telling me they love hearing the Ukulele or Polynesian drums or seeing familiar brown queens collaborating with me in my music video ‘Ocean Song’ it gives me this sense of pride and validation. I’m really proud of my project and myself.”
Dinah Jane realizes that this EP may not feel mainstream or may not be the type of project Fifth Harmony fans might expect. But the EP has created a foundation for Dinah Jane to build on. She called it “the home she’s been longing for the longest.” Instead of chasing trends, she’s setting them. She’s forging a path for Polynesian influences to one day become the mainstream.
“Our music comes down to the instrumentation, percussion, and our vocal harmonies,” she said when asked what makes Polynesian music unique. She also told me about her deep admiration for the music of other faiths. “My favorite was witnessing the union of about 30,000+ Mate Maa Tonga fans singing in a stadium for the Rugby World Cup in 2017 in New Zealand. Although the refs were against us, there was something so special how everyone sung in hymn to the players as a prayer of comfort and pride! To this day, it gives me chills.”
While the Polynesian influence is strong on this EP, songs like "JUST US TWO" and "YA YA" are a cool and successful blend of infectious, mainstream pop vocal hooks and island music. DJ FLICT helped produce both tracks. He’s worked with Dinah Jane since Fifth Harmony’s 2015 album Reflection.
“DJ FLICT is a brother to me at this point,” Dinah Jane said enthusiastically. “Him being Filipino, he’s really familiar with pacific islander culture and community! And the bonus part is we both come from the same city: Santa Ana, California. So we just mesh really well together. His energy is infectious and he’s the perfect hype man in the studio. He pushes me out of my comfort zone and I love that aspect when we’re recording/creating records. So grateful for the family relationship we’ve kept since those 5H days.”
The album features two versions of a song called “ROAD LESS TRAVELED.” One features a more mainstream pop sound, while the other, alternate version is labeled the “reggae version” and comes at the end of the track list. This reggae version of the song was a last minute addition. The producer J-Vibe out of Miami approached Dinah Jane and her manager with an idea for an alternate arrangement.
“I was instantly obsessed with the idea!” said Dinah Jane. “I love both versions equally! To me, Rahki, who produced the RLT original gem, gave the foundation of this song that timeless RnB touch. Both versions are addicting, yet have different vibes and speak to me differently. The original is vibey and sets a laid back mood. As for the remix, it sets an upbeat, brighter tone to the record. It’s currently the record off my EP I have on repeat.”
The music video for “ROAD LESS TRAVELED” was fun to shoot. The crew was kicked off one of the Malibu beaches because some Karen ratted them out. “But on the way to another location we looked over to our right and we noticed another stretch of beach, and the sky was a pretty cotton candy pink, purple, and a hue ash of blue,” said Dinah Jane. “We immediately stopped our crew vans, jumped out, and finished shooting the video there. It became some of my favorite shots in the whole video.”
“The aesthetic, yet last minute location, was serendipitously satisfying and couldn’t have been any more perfect. So I guess thank you, Karen.”
The album also features a new collaboration between Dinah Jane and JKING. They collaborated last year on the song “Falling In Love.”
They teamed up again for the song “LET’S GO” off this EP. Dinah Jane said the song came about organically.
“Fun fact: last year at the end of August, I flew into Australia to film the music video for ‘Falling in Love.’ The day I flew in was the same night we hit the studio to complete any last touches for the song. Next thing you know, JKING plays me a few tracks he produced and I was instantly drawn to the guitar chords that became the record ‘LET’S GO.’ His whole team was so inviting. We all caught a vibe and stayed for as long as we could to finish this track.”
From collaborating with trusted friends and producers and incorporating elements of her Polynesian heritage to striking out on her own and pushing her sonic boundaries, Dinah Jane no longer has that identity crisis. She’s proud of this EP. She’s excited for the future. And she knows who she is.
“I have a story to tell and I'm ready to share it.”
Make sure to follow Dinah Jane on Instagram. You can listen to my favorite track from the record below!