Bold R&B talent Jacoténe knows exactly who she wants to be

“My goal at the end of last year was to be independent,” Jacoténe explains, tucking her legs underneath her as she settles down on a bench by the water at London’s Barbican Centre. The Melbourne R&B singer (real name Chelsea Jacotine) wasn’t half-hearted about achieving that aim – where some other 20-year-olds might settle for getting off their family phone plan or embarking on some solo travel, she threw herself in at the deep end and moved halfway across the world to the city where she’s meeting NME today. “I hadn’t ever been anywhere by myself, not even a holiday. I had a family going-away party and I was like, ‘Oh my god, this feels like a funeral!’”

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Far from a death, though, Jacoténe’s time in the UK so far has given her plenty of opportunity to grow and build on the foundation she started laying in 2022. She was discovered by her now-manager during an online showcase held by her music school, and had been taking singing lessons since 2014. Initially inspired by a performance of Alicia Keys’ ‘Girl On Fire’ on The Voice Australia, she dazzled with a performance of the Fugees’ ‘Killing Me Softly’, despite the limitations of singing over video call.

Later that year, Jacoténe entered Australian radio station Triple J’s Unearthed High competition with ‘I Need Therapy’, a blend of ’60s Motown-pop and her big, bold voice that eventually secured her victory in the contest. A record deal with Epic Records followed, upending the then-teenager’s normal school life, taking her from class to flying around the world for writing sessions. She loved the “fast-paced” nature of balancing the two, but admits she did struggle, too.

“There was one point in my English class, I was late again and my teacher was like, ‘You’re always late – what are you possibly doing in the morning?’” she recalls between bites of lemon drizzle cake. “I lost my shit. I was like, ‘Alright mate, I’m living in two worlds right now, school is one of them. Give me a fucking break.’ He was like, ‘You know what? Fair.’”

Rather than try to speed-run her way to success, though, Jacoténe instead has taken her time. In the three years since winning Unearthed High, she slowly drip-fed demo versions of songs to her audience, biding her time before unleashing “proper” singles, like 2024’s ‘Stop Calling’, a powerful call out of a sneaky ex.

“I think it’s one thing to learn about yourself, but it’s also [another] to learn about the people you’re working with,” she reasons now. “It’s good to make sure that everybody knows what you want to do and what you want to create, because everyone has their own ideas. I think that’s why I did the demo phase, too – to learn, and it gave me a nice little canvas to explore and experiment.”

“Sometimes I get tired of singing the same songs, so I just switch it up and play different versions”

Since ‘Stop Calling’’s release last November – and her move to London earlier this year – Jacoténe has been ramping things up. Following an appearance on the 2025 edition of the NME 100, she shared her debut EP ‘Untitled (Read My Mind)’ in June, a collection that gave a fuller insight into Jacoténe’s artistry. She’s also been making the most of chances to perform in London and across Europe, putting her soulful, arresting songs in front of audiences she would have struggled to reach as easily in person if she’d remained at home.

On stage, she says, is where she feels at her best. “No one can get to me on the stage,” she says firmly. “Nobody can tell me what I have to do or what to wear or how I have to sing. It’s the most untouched and this [sub]conscious version of Jacoténe that’s just my purest self.”

Despite only having a limited catalogue of released music at her disposal, she aims to make each performance feel like it’s something that won’t happen again. “I’ve been playing new ones, and sometimes I get tired of singing the same songs, so I just switch it up and play different versions.” She points to a recent gig where she played ‘Stronger’ on acoustic piano rather than guitar, and without a backing track: “Things like that feel like you can’t really experience them on Spotify.”

Her big move has also given her plenty to write about for her next chapter. Her new single, ‘Leave Me’, was penned the day she landed in London and finds her questioning both her decision to leave home and why her parents would let her fly the nest. “Easy come, easy go / I can’t find why you let me go,” she shares, her rich, distinctive voice simultaneously poised but full of emotion.

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“Don’t ask me how I felt when I landed,” Jacoténe says now, fixing NME with a brief warning look. “Everything was so perfect at home, why would I want to leave? Then I started to learn, to see more things and grow – and, just as my goal said, be more independent.”

As she talks, it’s clear that Jacoténe is a young artist full of determination and who knows exactly what impression she wants to make with her music. She describes what’s to come in the coming months from her as more “defined”, reaching into her bag to play a snippet of an upcoming track to NME. “It’s charged,” she declares. “It’s not background music; it’s not elevator music.” She’s not wrong – it’s the kind of song that gets stuck in your head after one listen, Jacoténe commanding attention over loping strings and gentle acoustic guitar.

“No one can get to me on the stage. It’s the most untouched version of Jacoténe that’s just my purest self”

It’s not just herself that Jacoténe has a clear idea of. She’s made a vision board of who she wants to listen to her music, creating a picture of people who are “the main characters in their lives”. “They watch a lot of movies, they think about things really deeply, they observe,” she explains. “I think I just want people to feel like they’re the best versions of themselves [when they listen to my music] – how Sade makes me feel. I want them to feel empowered.”

Given everything she’s secured so far – a national talent competition won, a global record deal signed, a sold-out debut headline gig at Sydney Opera House, a move across the world, and a steadily-growing collection of sublime songs – you can bet on Jacoténe having legions of fans crediting her with new levels of confidence very soon.

Jacoténe’s ‘Leave Me’ is out on October 3 via Epic Records

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