How refreshing then to meet fourteen-year-old pop singer Jasmine Sagginario. This fun twenty-first century girl is no doubt hip to the times—yeah, she’s on Facebook, but she can also think and act way beyond them as indicated by the title track on her irresistibly danceable debut release, The Next Me. Where is everyone’s originality? I’m not ashamed of what I believe ‘cause now is not eternity. I’m not gonna be like everyone else. I don’t want to be the next big thing. I’m gonna be the next me. “My music is about being who God made me to be and not falling back into the world’s standards,” says Jasmine. “It’s easy to find negative influences and do things we wouldn’t normally do. Kids struggle with it all the time. But some friends and I have a saying we try to live by: keep it holy. That’s my thing.” | |