Viewers may be initially drawn in by the drawl of her voice, bouncy beat and hypnotic dancing, but the camera soon fades out, returning to a lavishly set dinner table on which Jordanna smashes a wine bottle. The mood has drifted from audacious to something more timid, as she sings of heartbreak and weakness while attached to several people through webs of fabric illustrating human connection.

This is the new music video for singer  and senior business and entrepreneurship major Hayley Jordanna—whose stage name is simply Jordanna—for her songs “Chances” and “One Night Thing” released March 30. 

First performing in riot grrrl band Glamour Hotline—now on hiatus—Jordanna started her own solo project highlighting her soulful vocals inspired by Amy Winehouse and Janis Joplin. Her solo project is more introspective and personal than her band and illustrates how “vulnerability does not equal weakness,” she said. 

The Chronicle sat down with Jordanna to talk about her latest music video release, musical inspirations, and the influence the Chicago  DIY music scene has had on her career as a musician.

THE CHRONICLE: What are the songs featured in the new video about?

JORDANNA: They’re both about relationships, which was important for me to write about with this project because Glamour Hotline was a very—sometimes radical—feminist riot grrrl music group. The lyrics were always on the defense and outward, not very introspective and more fighting against something all the time, which still is important. But for me, this was an introspective project and [shows] you can be strong and feminist about your beliefs but also admit to vulnerability.

What motivated you to move onto more introspective work?

As an artist, you don’t write a song, turn it off, then go to sleep. You’re always a musician. I entered a time in my life where I needed to be reflective and introspective and [realize] I have feelings; I’m not just a robot. It’s important to have a balance or else you’re going to run yourself down.

Will you be releasing an album soon?

Probably. It will be very different from what this video is about, though. It’s a secret, but there will be something. I’m rewriting and deleting and scrapping. I’m trying to pick the best of the best and get some collaborators on that: some people from the Chicago community [and] hopefully some people from the New York community.

How has Chicago’s DIY music community benefited you as a musician? 

The location for the video is thanks to the DIY community—any promotion and support is thanks to [them]. It’s such an open and inviting community of artists and collaborators.

What inspired the lavish dinner table scene in the music video?

The song is about a relationship where I was acting like it’s OK, and obviously, [the relationship was] not OK. So we have this fancy, lavish table and you see me breaking a bottle at the end of that song. Something can look beautiful and perfect but at the end of that song there can be anger behind beauty.