PAULINA JAYNE - If I Knew Me Then - Girl King Records, LLC.

Though it’s been since the ultra-catchy “Half” that we last heard from country starlet Paulina Jayne, that doesn’t mean she’s been quiet. Electrifying steadily growing audiences with her dynamic live show while carefully crafting a new direction in the writing room, she now reemerges with our first look at her next chapter, “If I Knew Me Then.”

Like the song itself, in many ways Paulina is coming of age as a songwriter and performing artist as she fully immerses herself into the directional vibe that she’s shifting toward.

The simple softness of the acoustic strum allows for Paulina to capture the looking back innocence of the lyrics within the ebbs and flows of her voice as she travels her now perspective in an open letter to her younger self through a wavering tone that signals it’s all going to be okay.

A transparent vulnerability naturally arrives whenever you turn the pages of your photo album, but Jayne excels in capturing the emotional heart string tugs within her vocal prowess, temporarily reliving those heartbreaking moments while tracing a teenage night that she let things go a little too far, an instant regret of trying to be someone else just to fit in during her college era, etc.

However, striking the chorus through a current realization that masks the now fleeting regrets into the life lessons learned, she encourages the reasons to always stand strong in who you are:

“If I knew me then like I know me now

That’s a road that I would have never gone down

I’d a have drawn that line, I’d a held my ground

If I knew me then like I know me now”

“I had to learn to like me just the way I am,” she poignantly sings early on in the song, check listing then all that she would have done differently as she slides into the bridge with a freedom and maturity to her vocal bends; stay away from all the drama, know the difference between a boy and a man, don’t sweat the small stuff, etc.

By crafting the first look at her next chapter with a song that’s filled with so much depth, Paulina Jayne immediately offers a firm introduction as to what we can expect from her going forward.

However, underneath this brightly shined showcase of who she is in this current space is a lyric that’s perfectly drawn to pull reflection from relatable “Strawberry Wine” type of moments while firmly planting seeds of inspirational encouragement onto the listener who’s in the midst of experiencing life’s growing pains.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)