Spotlight on Business: You attended the University of Illinois as a D1 Tennis Athlete, so one would assume you would have gone on to the professional tennis circuit. So, when did your passion for music begin? Jade Hilton: I always loved to sing. When I wrote my first song, that’s when I realized, oh, I think music is what I really want to do. I was around 14. Before that, I used to wonder, how do people write songs? And then I did it, and I was like, wait, I can do it! Tennis was my dream before that. As a little girl, I was convinced I was going to be a tennis pro. I looked up to Roger Federer, and I actually sent him a fan letter saying I was going to go pro one day - and he wrote me back. By high school, I was still playing high- level tennis while discovering music, and I started to see how difficult it is to go pro in either. You really have to love it. My coaches wanted me to go pro, but by the end of high school, I saw myself going into music. I was offered a full scholarship to the University of Illinois. You can only really be an athlete when you’re young, so I didn’t want to walk away from that opportunity. Tennis was my main focus in college, but I never stopped doing music - I was actually minoring in music. Spotlight on Business: Early, you leaned towards hip-hop and R&B, so who were your musical influences, idols, and what inspired you to move towards the country music genre? Jade Hilton: Most of my early collaborators were in hip-hop and R&B. Being in Toronto, that was the sound - Drake was huge, and every producer I knew had worked with him or Jay-Z. I didn’t really grow up on country music - I wish I had. My first producer, Tone Mason, had worked on Jay-Z and Drake albums, so all I knew was writing to beats. When I went to Nashville and explored different collaborators, I fell in love with country music because of the storytelling. But it was also the audience. Playing for country fans was the first time I felt like
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you have control over your “
B ridging cultures and sound, Hilton has emerged within the canto-country space and recently opened for Hong Kong artist Yatfung, blending her cultural roots with the genre she loves. Her next single, Carolina Blue (2026), is inspired by a love story from her college days at the University of Illinois - a marker in a journey defined by movement, independence, and lived experience. We had the opportunity to sit down with this rising star in Country Music and talk about how she is serving up country hits, her elite tennis roots, her country heart, and her journey as a singer-songwriter in the music business. Spotlight on Business: Tell us a little about yourself offstage. What do you like to do in your spare time when you are not writing music or on stage? Jade Hilton: Spare time - there really isn’t that much. When you’re an artist, especially starting out, you usually have another job. I coach tennis at Hotel X in Toronto, which has been amazing. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of great clients who stay at the hotel, but it doesn’t leave me much time. It’s often coaching all day and then music all night. But playing shows feels like my vacation because I love it so much.
career. ”
10 SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 26 ISSUE 2
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE 11 SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE 11
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator