I had never heard the name Jamie McDell, though judging by the volume of buzz and praise Google throws out, I feel like I should have. Her debut album Six Strings and a Sailboat debuted at number eight on the NZ Top 40 and her singles have been dancing around the charts for weeks. Granted, I live under a rock and avoid pop music if I can.

These songs are sure to satisfy a specific group; girls above and below thirty. It is the soundtrack to a summer of freedom, a road trip to Taupo with the girls, sunbathing with a book, singing into a hairbrush, pining over an unrequited crush or shopping in Glassons. While reviewing Six Strings and a Sailboat I heard Jamie McDell’s latest single Life in Sunshine playing in Glassons. No. I don’t wear anything from the Glassons range, but it is Christmas time…   

I remember thinking the song was Taylor Swift at first, then wondering why I would know the words if it was a Taylor Swift song. Google tells me I’m not the first to notice the similarities between Taylor Swift and Jamie McDell.  Many reviews draw the comparison to American songbird and sweetheart Taylor Swift, and there is a similarity in the sense that they are both beautiful young woman with sweet voices. 

And who cares if Jamie McDell sounds like Taylor Swift. Look at the numbers. Six Strings and a Sailboat has number two New Zealand album on the Top 40 for the past two weeks, beaten only by perennial Country music icon Dennis Marsh and ahead of kiwi legends Kora, Six60 and Bic Runga’s Anthology. Other than Aaradhna, McDell’s single You’ll Never Take That Away is the only Gold certified single on the Top 40 singles chart. Jamie McDell has made it. She is our Taylor Swift.

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