SIMONE JOY JONES IS WORKING ON NEW MUSIC, ACTING ROLES AND MUCH MORE
If you’ve ever watched the re-imagination of Bel-Air you’re probably already familiar with Simone Joy Jones. What many people don’t know is that she’s cultivating her music career, on a high from starring in a new film and she’s just getting started. We got the chance to sit down with Simone and learn all about her career and what’s next for her!
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
At only 10 years old you performed on Broadway for the first time in the 50th anniversary revival of the play, “The Miracle Worker”. How did this opportunity come about? What is your favorite memory from this experience?
I had started auditioning in NYC in the summers and I auditioned literally 6-12 times a week, but I remember this audition very clearly. They weren’t paying attention at all! I was sure I didn’t get it but kept going anyway thinking “they’re missing a Tony award winning performance right now- their loss” wow this was an opportunity of a lifetime.
I truly loved coming to work every single day for the rehearsal process and the people. My favorite part had to be when they let me perform my adaptation of Wicked in between the matinee and the night show one Saturday that I had written for all the kids in the cast. Me as Elphaba, Abigail Breslin as Nessarose, Anthony Scarpone Lambert as Bock, and Lance Chantelle as Fiyero. Such an incredible time. All the cast came to see it and I was feeling on top of the world.
A year later you were in the film “The Son of No One” alongside Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes and a few other stars. Tell us about your role as a young Vicky and what the experience was like shooting your first film.
Again, such a fantastic memory. I really got to work closely with everyone in the cast and it was so nice to be poured into by those people. Dito Montiel really opened up the world to me saying I can do anything. That movie was about some serious circumstances, and it was one of my first jobs.
The scene was watching a man die and bleed out in the bathroom and then hide in his body. It was exhilarating and the actors I was working with taught me so much about telling stories and honestly being locked into your character. Also, Channing Tatum called me his little sister, and I still have an autograph of a note from him, saying that!
During the pandemic you began releasing music under your stage name S!mone. What made you spell your name like this for your musical career? Talk to us about your process when starting your career as a musician.
I like to spell my name like that because it’s still mine but with like a little, “campy” exciting feel to it. It’s also the way I always write my name in my notebooks so it’s nice it leaves a little room for a larger-than-life persona, which I like exploring in my music.
I got a chance to listen to your music and I have to say, “Lucky” and “Angel” are my absolute favorites. Your voice is so smooth yet strong and relaxing. For those who have never heard your music before, what is the very first song they should listen to?
Oh my goodness I’m so happy you listened to it. It is so cool! I really love “Lucky” because I’m really starting to build harmony in a way that I really like but all of them are bops!
You attended Carnegie Mellon University and graduated from their musical theater program in 2021. Tell us about your experience there and what you have taken from that program into your career as a musician and actress.
Carnegie Mellon is a beast of a school. It has the best professors, curriculum, and they hold all their standards to such a high-level. It was very exhausting and a little grueling, but very rewarding. The level at which I practiced really prepared me for a world that doesn’t wait for you to get ready and expects the best out of you.
I expect the best out of my work largely because of that school and the people who brought it out of me. It’s also a place where I fell in love with the form and technique of storytelling repeatedly in different ways.
While finishing up your senior year at Carnegie Mellon you appeared in the Netflix drama “The Chair” starring Sandra Oh, as Joy. Talk about your experience filming this series.
Such a crazy experience because it was my first job during my senior year. I originally volunteered for the reading filling in for the actors who could not make the zoom, and the creator Amanda Peet was so kind and liked me. I found out she wrote a character for me and then on my first day I found out I had Covid and went home heartbroken because I couldn’t do it.
Then after my Covid had passed, the writer wrote me in again, and I was so honored because I had a scene with Sandra Oh and the most memorable part about that was working with her. She is so kind and she would start the scene before we even started rolling. That taught me a lot.
Your first full body of work, the “Divine Mistakes” EP features 7 songs and was released back in 2021. Tell us about the process of making this project and what song was your favorite to record.
That was such a cool moment, because I realized I could be in the driver seat, musically. Being in the musical theater world is singing and bringing to life with what you’re given. It’s beautiful and grand but it’s always somebody else’s.
So that body of work was my first time making something that was truly me musically and it was a joy! It was crazy and it’s a little rough, but I discovered a lot about myself, and what I like, and the kind of music that starts my soul on fire. I can’t wait for everyone to hear the new music because I have grown so much.
My favorite song on that project has to be “Crash“. I really liked my writing so much and it has a little jazz section and I love Jazz and always have.
Who would be your dream musical collaboration?
Willow Smith, Jacob Collier, Erykah Badu, Beyoncé Miguel. Pharrell, Childish Gambino, Raye, all those 100%!
Can we expect new music from you this year?
Absolutely this summer. It’s been such a joy to work on and an honor to work with the musicians I have.
I really love the newest song you’re featured on called “Strawberries and Wine” with Jaylon Ashaun. How did this collab come about?
I have loved this song since I was in college. I’m such a fan of chocolate, strawberries and wine! Ironically, I could have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and not bat an eye.
I’m a fan of his and we met at an event, and I was like “I’m gonna do a cover of your song,” and he was like let’s do it together and I was like period let’s go. It’s a little live version so it literally took us five minutes and I’m so happy people like it.
You currently play “Lisa” in Peacock’s reimagination of Will Smith’s Bel-Air. The original Lisa was notoriously played by Nia Long. Tell us about your experience on the show. Did you ever speak to Nia about the character?
Being on Bel-Air has been so freaking fun. It has brought me friends, great acting experiences and great directorial insight and it’s just really cool to be on a show that has a whole universe attached to it.
It’s great that people have loved this story for years and that it still resonates and manifests in a different show makes me so honored to be a part of it. I haven’t talked to Nia Long yet, but I can’t wait until I do. She’s one of my biggest inspirations and she’s just so cool.
In 2022 you starred in Billy Porter’s “Anything Possible”, a coming to age romantic comedy as Megan. Tell us about your character and what you enjoyed most about filming this movie.
This one is so funny because I was only supposed to be in it for like two seconds and I just really liked working with Billy and he basically found a way for me to show up in scenes that I wasn’t even supposed to show up in!
Working on that film in Pittsburgh was just such a joy because I got to hang out with Billy Porter and the cast is so lovely and getting to know each other was a breeze and the film is so beautiful and funny. What a joy to put our hearts into a film that uplifts and tells a story I think we need right now.
Last summer you went on tour with Coco Jones as her opener and performed in over 20 sold-out cities! What are some things you learned about performing live and adjusting to different audiences?
Wow, first of all to join that tour was so cool and so incredible. I had the time of my life so far. Coco and I were talking about this, and we felt like it feels like Broadway. It feels like a theatrical show except you are the writer, director and producer.
So, it’s really fun that it’s kind of no pressure because it’s really you up there which also makes it scary because it could feel like they don’t like you but they ended up eating it up & it is really cool to find people who resonate with you and your sound in real time .
“Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” is a remake of the 1991 coming of age black comedy film and is now in theaters nationally. Tell us about your role in this film and what your experience was like starring in it.
My experience was really grand and a big leap for me because I had never done anything comedic on that scale before. I was a bit nervous and excited because the script was so good, and all my scene partners are so giving and kind and funny!
To be able to explore and be a part of pretty much every scene of that film was really big for me. Working with Nicole Richie, and the rest of the cast, is such a joy. We laughed every single day, so I hope people laugh watching it, at least half as much as we laughed, making it.
What’s next for Simone Joy Jones? What can your supporters expect from you this year?
They can definitely expect new music and Bel-Air to drop for its third season. Lisa is doing some crazy things in there and there is an unexpected evolution of her character that is happening, and I can’t wait to share my next acting endeavor with you all, I know it’ll be so exciting. Thank you so much for the interview Galore!
TEAM CREDITS:
Editor in Chief: Prince Chenoa (@princechenoastudio)
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
Photographer: Andie Jane (@andiejane)
Styling: Wilford Lenov (@wilfordlenov)
Hair Stylist: Kiyah Wright (@kiyahwright1)
Makeup Artist: Dana Delaney (@danadelaney)
