Jena Irene
Farmington Hills teen Jena Irene of "American Idol," a 2014 runner-up, has signed a long-term recording deal with a Detroit label, Original 1265 Recordings, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The 18-year-old plans to release a debut album lthis year. Los Angeles companies were considered before she decided to stay local, Tom Walsh writes.
The business columnist tells how she hooked up with the company:
Her mother, Julie, had sent an e-mail to Dan Gilbert, chairman of Quicken Loans, asking whether Jena Irene could help with efforts by Gilbert and Quicken to promote the comeback of downtown Detroit.
Quicken executives didn't see an immediate hook, but Lisa Dancsok, a vice president of Gilbert's Rock Ventures unit, connected Jena Irene and her mom with (Kevin) Nixon and Sarah Clayman, co-founders of both the Original 1265 record label and the Detroit Institute of Music Education at 1265 Griswold, a Gilbert-owned and renovated building.
Nixon, a longtime manager of music acts and record labels in the United Kingdom, had not watched her on "American Idol." But he liked what he saw on a YouTube video of Jena Irene performing the alternative rock group Radiohead's song "Creep."
