STUDENT STANDOUTS by stephanie wallace
JOCELIN MURRAY OF NORTH KIRKWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL INSPIRED BY AN ONLINE COMMENT, Jocelin Murray wrote the song “Tide.” The North Kirkwood Middle School eighth-grader ended up submitting it to the Creating Original Music Project (COMP), an annual competition through the University of Missouri for young songwriters in kindergarten through 12th grade. From the statewide submissions, Jocelin took home second place in the middle school pop category. Do you plan to continue pursuing music? How long have you been interested in music? I’ve been interested in music my whole life, but songwriting is a Definitely, but songwriting isn’t my main focus. I’m more interested in the business side of entertainment. My dream more recent hobby. I started around two years ago. would be to start a talent agency because I love discovering what other people can do. Where does your songwriting inspiration come from? It really comes from anything, whether it’s a small thing or a really big issue. The inspiration for “Tide” came from a video my What are you looking forward to about starting high school? friend posted online. She asked for people to leave comments I’m excited to have more responsibility. It also will be great to of support to help her through a difficult time. Someone wrote, have my friends there with me. I’m looking forward to all of the “When you can’t fight the hate, I’ll fight it for you.” That stood out new experiences. to me, and it became part of the song’s chorus. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? I love hanging out with friends. I like to help them with their How did it feel to have your song recognized by COMP? I was surprised. Entering the contest was a spur of the moment problems. I’ve learned that I give pretty good advice. I also enjoy decision. I received an email about it and decided to submit a dancing as a hobby. song for fun. I spent less time on “Tide” than other songs I’ve written, so I didn’t expect anything. I’m used to sharing music with my friends, and they give me good feedback, but having someone who doesn’t know me like the song and its lyrics was great.
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JUNE 23, 2021
