For Your GRAMMY® Consideration
Best Alternative Music Album
Not Going Back - Janie May
About the Project
Inspired by Gloria Gaynor’s timeless hit I Will Survive and Sean Baker’s Oscar-winning film Anora, Not Going Back could be part of the soundtrack for a hypothetical sequel to that film.
This project by a South Brooklyn native traces the journey from feelings of heartbreak and hopelessness to quiet confidence, self-determination and empowerment.
The album starts off somber, pained and reflective, building to a crescendo with the title track, and closing with tracks that communicate a sense of acceptance, resolution and the determination to persist no matter what.
The music video for the title track, Not Going Back, builds on this theme and was inspired by the film Flashdance and the music video for Queen’s I Want to Break Free. I replicated the iconic Flashdance audition scene choreography for the video.
About the Artist
Brooklyn-born of Puerto Rican and Italian-Argentine descent, Janie May writes songs that uplift and inspire, about what happens after you survive, when you choose yourself and don’t look back.
Rooted in alternative pop soul/R&B with country storytelling influences, Janie crafts lyrically incisive anthems that explore heartbreak, resilience, and empowerment. Her stage name is an homage to the fierce protagonist of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, a reflection of Janie’s own artistic journey toward voice, agency, and self-definition.
Janie’s music lives at the intersection of Gloria Gaynor’s unapologetic strength and Amy Winehouse’s emotional depth. Drawing inspiration from artists like Fiona Apple, Sharon Jones, Adele, Lauryn Hill, Incubus, Stevie Wonder and Dolly Parton, her sound feels both deeply personal and immediately relatable.
A classically trained ballet dancer, Janie approaches music as a full-body art form. Movement plays a central role in her performances and visuals, informed by her belief that music and motion are inseparable. This philosophy extends to her music videos, which she treats as an essential part of storytelling. It’s a modern pursuit of the “total work of art.”
Based in NYC, Janie has performed at venues including Pianos, Sleepwalk, Sanger Hall and the Paramount Times Square in addition to Fox and Locke in Nashville. She has earned features in Fault Magazine, Take Effect, PopMuzik and Songwriting Magazine UK. A brief attendee of the esteemed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and a graduate of Columbia University, since releasing her first single in 2019, she has evolved through a debut EP to her first full-length album in 2025, with her sophomore record arriving in February 2026.
Her album, Not Going Back, captures a pivotal emotional threshold: the moment you let go, move forward, and choose yourself. Janie’s music is for those who know what it’s like to take the leap, just as much as it is for those standing at the edge.
Press
“A soulful pop musician with a sound informed by her Brooklyn upbringing.” - Songwriting Magazine UK
“The track is a meditation on playing it safe and taking a risk, and cautions the listener to not be afraid to take a chance, for you never know what lies ahead.” - Fault Magazine
“An often personal effort, May’s vision is one that embraces electronic pop, R&B and soul, where her Italian-Argentine heritage and classical background might bring to mind the Eurythmics or Lauryn Hill.” - Take Effect
Credits
Songwriting and Vocals by Janie May
Executive Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Ronny Katz
Strings by Rebecca McBride
Mastered by James Cronier