Rising Musician Jake White Talks Debut Single ‘Unwanted’

On November 12, singer-songwriter Jake White officially released his debut single “Unwanted.”

Co-written with Jeremy Pholwattana, who also serves as the track’s producer alongside Cooper Anderson, “Unwanted” is about longing for someone who doesn’t want you anymore, obsessing over what went wrong, and realizing you are now alone. That you are only being tolerated and not truly loved the way you deserve.

“I am very excited about this project’s release,” White exclusively told OFM. “I have been writing stuff for a while, but then working with some of the people who I have been working with kind of came unexpectedly this year. Things fell into place, and it is still hard to believe that it actually happened. I am excited for people to hear this song, and hopefully, it can help them process their own feelings, breakups, relationships, and self-worth.”

According to White, the concept and inspiration for “Unwanted” came after he experienced a rough breakup over the summer.

“It took me a while to become re-centered in my own life,” he explains. “I was definitely struggling and obsessing about the past, longing for something that was never going to happen again, and worried about being alone and unsupported in the future. It can be hard out there, especially with online dating and with the unrealistic standards of physical perfection gay men tend to have. There’s a lot of ghosting that goes on with online dating as well, which feels really dehumanizing.”

Ultimately, White hopes “Unwanted” makes listeners realize that they are not alone.

“I hope that people see that it’s normal to feel out of balance, and it’s normal to struggle after a breakup,” he says. “That everyone at one time or another has had to deal with what it feels like to be unwanted and alone.”

Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, White’s background is in multi-disciplinary voice and performing arts management from the University of Michigan. His sound is influenced by, but not limited to pop, R&B, and alternative music, and he has been compared to artists like Shawn Mendez and Sam Smith.

He began to discover his passion for music during his freshman year of high school.

“I grew up playing sports a lot because my dad was the athletic director at my school,” he says. “I was kind of pushed to be a jock, so I did sports like football, track, shot and discus, and tennis. I was also in marching band, and my section leader heard me singing one day.

She was like, ‘Oh my gosh, your voice is nice. You should audition for the musical.’ I did, which was Grease, and then I fell in with the theatre kids, joined the choir, and did the acapella group. I fell in love with singing, and it eventually led me to auditioning and getting into the music school at the University of Michigan.”

Although “Unwanted” is White’s first official single, he has performed at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit for the Game of Thrones National Concert Tour with Ramin Djawadi and has been featured on an EDM record by Warner Music.

He is currently working on his solo project with Grammy and Oscar Balloted production company, Sound Entertainment.

“This project has been so wonderful,” he says. “My mom actually met Jeremy Ryan, the producer that I have been working with, on a vacation in Greece. They got to know each other and had a great time, and we were able to connect later on. Everything fell into place. Even though he’s in New York, in the age of Zoom, we have been able to work across the country and write and record music.”

White’s next song, “Self-Destruction,” will be released December 17, and while it is also a breakup song, it is coming from a different head space than “Unwanted.”

“Self-Destruction” is about becoming empowered to set boundaries with the selfish partner that doesn’t value you, and choosing to love yourself over them,” he explains. “It’s about realizing you’re a better person without them, and that one of their self-destructive decisions was choosing to not see you for who you are and all that you have to offer. Hopefully, we all get to that place where we can recognize self-destructive tendencies and red flags sooner.”

The artist plans to release his third song in February 2022 and hopes to have a full album out soon.

To stay up-to-date and connect with White, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, or visit his official website. “Unwanted” is available on Spotify and all other digital streaming platforms.

Photos Courtesy of Jake White