The Chicago Native Serves a Licking in “Lollipop”, the First Single from His Upcoming Album
By Mark Bloom
Out artist Jaime Adrian grew up on the east side of Chicago in a predominantly Mexican and very Catholic neighborhood. Kids often made fun of him for being different, calling him feminine and belittling his love of singing as “not something a real man would do”. In “Lollipop,” the first single release from his upcoming album, Jaime Adrian claps back at all of the negative nellies who have tried to quash his spirit through the years. With it’s a catchy and upbeat Latin/ reggaeton sound, “Lollipop” is sure to inspire everyone to the dancefloor. We caught up with Jaime at his home in Chicago. Mark Bloom:Is “Lollipop” is a Suck-U track? Jaime Adrian: (Laughing) It definitely is! It’s a suck-u to all the people who go out of their way to bring others down. I wanted to give music fans a song that they could relate to and maybe dance off the hate to at clubs or in their rooms. MB: What made you a target for neighborhood bullies on Chicago’s east side? JA: Just breathing made me a target! It started in 4th grade. I had no idea what a fruit cake was but that’s what I was called. I was bullied for random things like my hair and because my asthma prevented me from playing sports. I didn’t act like the other boys in school and that meant that something was wrong with me. MB: Did you have the support of your family? JA: My mom and siblings supported
me. I had certain relatives bully me, though, telling me how to sit on a chair like a man and how to wear my socks like a man. I would take my shirt off and they would call me fat. You know how that story goes. Nothing I did was right. MB: Can you describe the trauma that results for a young boy being judged as not manly enough? JA: The trauma stunts your mental growth. I have anxiety attacks when I’m taking the train home to visit my extended family. I still feel like they are pointing, staring, and talking about how fem I am and how gay I look. If I go to straight clubs, I have panic attacks because all the memories come rushing back. MB: Yet you somehow found the strength to put yourself in front of some of the harshest judges on TV’s The X Factor. How did you manage that? JA: I am a longtime fan of the X Factor UK and when I heard they were casting the American version, I was determined to be on the show. I didn’t care about anything or anyone’s opinion. This was my dream. MB: Was meeting Britney Spears
everything you imagined it would be? JA: Britney spears is my idol. She is the reason I wanted to become a popstar. Meeting her didn’t go as planned. She didn’t say anything rude or much at all. MB: She was going through a rough emotional period during the second season of the show. JA: I wish I knew what she was going through. That may have changed my entire song selection process. MB: Why did you choose to audition with a Britney Spears song? JA: Choosing what to sing on a reality show is a process that no one really knows about. I originally planned to audition with songs by Ricky Martin, Jay Sean, and Ne-Yo, but the show couldn’t get them cleared. Once Britney signed on as judge, the producers told me I should sing one of her songs