Off the Record Podcast with Maliah Aguilar
Episode #003 – Guest: Amy-Jayne

“This is Off the Record — I’m Maliah Aguilar. Here, we go beyond the music. I sit down with artists and personalities you know — and some you’re about to — to talk about the moments that don’t make the liner notes. From heartbreak to healing, tour life to late-night doubts — it’s raw, real, and completely off the record.”

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We are so fucking back, welcome back to Off the Record with your girl Maliah Aguilar. Guys, the first two episodes were so much fun and the response was incredible. I had to take a little vacation while we worked on lining up the next guest for the podcast and it’s a personal highlight for me. I’ve been the biggest fan of our guest Amy-Jayne since I was a literal child, for me she is a foundation of RnB music and a staple of the pop scene for an entire generation. She’s always been an incredibly private person, she’s carried herself with class and dignity throughout her entire career and rarely gives in-depth interviews or conversations. So it is a huge privilege that she’s agreed to sit with me and have a real, raw and honest conversation today.

Amy-Jayne, I’m sure you’ve had fans go crazy over meeting you for years now. But I can’t downplay how much of a fan of your work and career I am, it’s such a joy and a pinch me moment to actually be sat with you for this podcast.

Amy: Aww girl you are too sweet, it is a pleasure to be here and thank you for asking me to chat with you, I am usually a very private person but girl I am ready to sit down and have a good old chat with you.

Okay, immediately there’s a big talking point just from meeting you that we have to get out of the way first. You are pregnant, like not just pregnant but like super pregnant. How far along are you?

Amy: Haha I am about ready to pop I am 8 almost 9 months I have just under a month left to go until this baby is out of me, I am honestly super excited to be having another baby, I honestly am so done after this one because girl kids be damn tiring.

That’s so exciting! It has been rumoured and talked about, but it’s not something you’ve ever come out and confirmed publicly.

Amy: Yeah like you said and I have always said…I am a very private person I tend to keep myself to myself I actually hate that side of this industry, I hate the invasion of privacy…it’s why I am very rarely active on socials because my personal life to me should be kept private and for the most part my relationships have remained quiet, except for the obvious few that have been documented, I also don’t like my kids to be splashed all over social media for the same reason like my son for example his 11 years old now and not a single photo of him is online and I am amazed by that but also glad.

You’re sort of famous already for how you’ve balanced being a mother and have a successful career in the music industry at the same time. With children from a previous relationship and it’s something people have always praised you for how well you’ve balanced things. What would you say are the key factors in doing that so gracefully?

Amy: I mean this kinda flows in with the whole keeping myself to myself. I can go about my business personally and then work on music and be the singer and “celebrity”. Honestly to me as long as you make time for your kids as well as your career then you are bossing it, for me that’s why I have had several periods of quiet between my music because I wanted to make sure my kids knew I was there and that I loved them and that I was there for the big milestones in their lives, that why after my son was born I took a break, after my daughter was born I took a break and when this one is born I will be taking another break, so this will probably be my last public appearance for a long while.

You’ve taken time out previously, it was almost five years before you returned in 2020. The idea of taking time away is something that I know so many current artists struggle with, fears of losing momentum and coming back and having to work their way back up again. But it’s something you’ve always managed brilliantly, I don’t think each time you’ve come back you’ve come back better than ever. Do you think maybe that time away is actually way more beneficial than a lot of people seem to think it is?

Amy: Yeah I took a really long break after my first two albums, partly because my second album didn’t perform as well and obviously had had my first child back then as well and I figured it was best for me to just step away for a bit and look after my child and then think about music, it wasn’t until really 2019 that music came back to the forefront for me, honestly I think it is good to sometimes take a break and rejuvenate yourself and get yourself in a good head space, because otherwise you know you could burn out, exhaust yourself or turn to other means to keep up with the demand from your fans, I know I’ve had that over the years. Fans asking me relentlessly for new music and I’ve always said patience is a virtue because I’m not going to rush release a half assed record you know, so I’d say definitely taking breaks between albums definitely has its advantages

I definitely know a lot of artists can become too focused on numbers, maybe it’s the pressure the labels put on them. You’re somebody that has consistently been one of the top artists in the industry for years now, what do you think is the true measure of success in this business?

Amy: Oh that’s a tough question, for me the chart placing of my music has never been much of a focus point for me…for me personally success I’d say is probably a mix of how recognised you are in public, like even if I look like a hot ass mess or cover my face people still recognize me, others in the industry might say it’s how many #1 records you have or the amount of social media followers you have but those to me are just superficial measures when it comes to success.

You’ve already achieved so much already, but are there any long-term goals in this business that you would like to check off your list?

Amy: Oh I have a few…believe it or not and I know what is about to come out of my mouth is gonna say hella crazy but I’d love to win an award someday, crazy I know I have never won one, I have been nominated before but have never managed to win one, of course if my career winds down and I have never won one I am not gonna get all uptight about it, or whine or cry about it because it is what it is, but I’d love to win just one someday. My other goal is to eventually write for others, because sometimes I actually prefer the songwriting process to the actual singing itself so I’d love to write for people in the industry someday also.

You spoke about being a mother and the balance of all of that. Being a mother and a successful artist, I’m sure is no easy balance. What does your day-to-day look like juggling both roles in this past few years?

Amy: Oh girl my day-to-day is hectic, usually I’d get up at like 6am make sure Jarrod my eldest has his lunch packed for school and all his books and everything he needs is all ready to go in his bag, then I’d usually drop him at school like parents do and then when his out the way at school usually I’d give my friend a call to take care of my younger one for an hour or two…then I’d spend that time in the gym or just doing something for myself a little me time. Then I’d come home pick up the boy from school and then cook up a good dinner for the three of us…which is soon gonna be four of us ming you, then once the kids are all tucked up in bed that is when I sit and write, sometimes it’s just brainstorming ideas for songs or sometimes I write what eventually becomes the stuff you guys hear, if I’m not writing then I am usually recording…I have a home studio in my basement that totally soundproof so I can sing to my hearts content and not wake my children up, so yeah it can sometimes be a struggle to juggle but I manage, girl I’m a boss like that!

You’ve stated before that you’ve pretty much raised your children up alone. Making the balance between career and parent even more difficult. You’ve only spoken sparingly about your past with Dominic Brown. How has that experience overall, and especially dealing with someone who was emotionally or physically absent, how has that shaped how you view love and commitment today?

Amy: I am gonna sound really petty here but honestly first and foremost Dominic can rot in hell for all I care, spilling the tea right here, at first it was great honestly but then you know you start to notice things, at first he was very much eyes for me then we had a baby and then I noticed them eyes start to wonder, I mean my friends did warn me but ya know ya girl didn’t listen, then he started to do that age old thing that men do, make up excuses or lies and you know what after all that was said and done I still said to him we’d stay connected for the sake of our daughter and guess what girl, he ain’t bothered with her since she was one years old and she’s now six years old hasn’t even made any sort of effort honestly it’s so frustrating!

From the outside looking in, it definitely seemed like a perfect match. As a fan of both yourself and Dominic’s own career, it was literal couple goals for me and a lot of my generation. How exactly did things go so wrong to the point where he’s not in your lives at all?

Amy: I kinda just touched on that a little in the last question, but the relationship failing was all on him before him I’d been single since my sons father and I split up I’ve never been a big fan of the whole dating scene though I do remember having some fun with the other Khan brother that nobody really knows to much about, but I’m rambling honestly it went wrong with Dom the moment he started to make up excuses or lie about where he was, at first I just brushed it off you know gave him the benefit of the doubt but as the old saying goes fool me once jokes on me, fool me twice jokes on you, he thought he could get away with it but I have to much respect for myself to ever stay in a relationship where lies and deception become the focal point.



For somebody so private, your situationship with Jadyn Ghalen has intrigued fans, maybe because we know so little about it. I know it's very private but clearly there’s something strong between you. How did that whole thing come about?

Amy: Honestly I can’t actually remember how we first met exactly I think maybe we was at some sort of event or something and we just happened to have this connection, the thing with Jadyn is and his made it very clear is that he isn’t really interested in commitment and honestly I was fine with that because I am now of the same mindset I’ve been screwed over one to many times now to fully open my heart to a man again, Jadyn and I are honestly just friends with some obvious added benefits and I know he is super excited about becoming a father and unlike Dominic his going to be there for our daughter and honestly that to me is a breath of fresh air.

I know that you guys don’t label it, you both live separate lives but remain very much involved with each other too. What is that? And how exactly do I get to have one of those?

Amy: We don’t label it because we have never officially said like oh we dating because honestly we aren’t, like I said just now we just have this strong connection both of a friendship level and a more sexual level that’s really all there is too it, honestly girl just find you a man that you vibe we and can have fun with and then maybe wet his whistle sometimes ya know, but honestly Jadyn and I are not dating, never have been an official couple so to speak we just a a strong connection and we vibe with each other it just so happens that sometimes that vibe leads to the bedroom.

He’s somebody that has had his name everywhere which feels so opposite to how you go about things. Maybe that opposites attract thing really does work?

Amy: I mean I would say we are that different actually, we are both very career driven people we both are very family oriented he said to me that his always wanted to be a father someday and now his going to be, people might be like really his family oriented doesn’t his clash with his brother constantly, like yes they lock horns and bicker but that’s what siblings do at the end of the day that man loves his family, I do very much keep myself to myself but I have always been like that I like to call myself and introverted extrovert because when I’m not on stage performing I am just a quiet, shy keeps to herself girl from Texas, off stage very much an introvert on stage, very much an extrovert I mean on stage you kinda have to be. But I suppose you do have a point now that I think about it because Jadyn is very much an extrovert 365 days a year.

You’ve kept your distance from public feuds and tabloid drama pretty much throughout your career. What’s your take on how celebrities use that aspect of publicity and attention so willingly these days, do you think it’s almost something that the modern artist has to do in order to remain relevant in the current climate of social media?

Amy: Honestly girl what others do with there time, life and whatnot is honestly know of my business that’s how I view it and that’s why I don’t use social media a lot because as much as I adore and love my fans I don’t want or need them knowing every last detail of my life and honestly social media these days can be so damn petty like if you have a problem with someone say it to there face ya know, as for remaining relevant no I honestly don’t think it matters if it mattered well let’s just say I wouldn’t be over a decade into my career, I get that TikTok has helped some songs become more popular and whatnot and that’s all good but do I think everyone in the industry needs to air all of there life and opinions onto others no not really, sometimes social media can have the wrong impact on us it can definitely help with publicity but it doesn’t mean that you’ll fail in the industry if you don’t use it much I am proof of that I guess.

With social media being a huge force now more than ever, do you think it's harder now coming into this world than it was when you were first coming through in the industry?

Amy: Oh tough question I wanna say yes and no, yes because there’s a lot more pressure to fit the mold on social media or present yourself a certain way but on the flip side I’d say no because with how much of a force social media is especially with the likes of TikTok that can make a relatively unknown artist sudden have a song just completely blow up I mean it happened just recently with that Danse guy he was mostly unknown and then bam his song became crazy popular on TikTok and it blew up, so it definitely has its pros and cons

Your 2025 album "Evolution" was a personal favourite of mine this year, it was a mature, elegant masterpiece. What was the emotional or creative process behind the album?

Amy: Oh girl thank you so much, you are far to kind…honestly for me this album was probably the most raw for me it had a lot of personal experiences thrown into the writing process and I decided to call it “Evolution” for a few reasons firstly because I wanted to showcase that I am not just an R&B and pop artist but that I can make music in other genres and styles, secondly “Evolution.” on the scientific sense means to change and adapt in life and my life has had enough enough ups and downs to last me a lifetime, I know a lot of fans where confused by a lot of the more hard hitting rock, metal stuff but again I wanted to not only evolve the overall sound but I also wanted to reach an entirely new and fresh audience with my music.

Since you’ve hinted that it may be the last album we have from you for some time, If “Evolution” had a message you wanted your fans to walk away with, what would it be?

Amy: Oh tough one I think the message would be to not conform to society because I know when I was creating the album a lot of people behind there scenes especially on the tracks that where more heavy and rock based where very skeptical they was like this is never gonna work, it’s not believable that a mixed race girl from Texas would be singing over a heavy metal instrumental, but I was defiant the norm and stereotype to bring an album that was full of twists and turns and a little nod to myself that I can sing just about anything!

Looking back at the younger version of yourself, your career has gone in directions that I’m not even sure you would have predicted. You’ve done everything in your career with grace, navigating fame, heartbreak, and motherhood, what would you say to your younger self now?

Amy: I think I’d say there are gonna be good times, bad times but you was raised to be a strong independent woman who can do anything one

I know you may be gone from the spotlight for some time. When can we expect a return?

Amy: That’s a tough question give me maybe a year I am definitely not going to be gone another five years but a good year, maybe who knows maybe with Jadyn helping raise his child I’ll come back sooner you’ll just have to keep your ears open

Amy-Jayne, I hope my podcast is still around when you do make that triumphant comeback and I hope we can have another conversation like this once again.

Amy: This has been a blast actually and I’d love to sit down and have a conversation with you again one day!