Jain opens up about her latest album, Zanaka

Jain wrote her first songs in her bedroom when she was only 16. At the time, she used songwriting as a diary — a way to express her insecurities and loneliness.

After recording some demos, Jain decided to share her music through Myspace. All her life, Jain moved from country to country with her family, leaving the relationships she formed in each place behind. She wanted to use her music as a way of connecting with her friends in different parts of the world.

Jain sent her demos to some record companies on the off chance they might bite — and they did. The third song Jain had ever written, a track called "Come," quickly became her first hit.

Through channeling the loneliness she often felt as a young adult, Jain created her debut album, Zanaka, which doubles as a glimpse of her life between the ages of 16 and 23. "Music is like my secret garden. It's where I heal myself from every pain that I feel. It's like a therapy," says Jain.

Jain is on tour now across North America.

—  Produced by Jean Kim