Introducing JACOTÉNE: Unearthed High winner for 2022

JACOTÉNE from Naarm/Melbourne is this year’s Unearthed High winner, taking out the competition with her amazing vocals on ‘I Need Therapy’!

triple j Breakfast’s Ebony Boadu and Good Nights host Bridget Hustwaite snuck in the confetti cannons for a very special surprise at JACOTÉNE’s school this week. Mid-assembly performance, she found out the huge news that she had taken the Unearthed High crown for 2022.

The 16-year-old from Star of the Sea College boasts an incredibly soulful voice that immediately drew comparisons to talented vocalists like Amy Winehouse and Adele. Ever since we played her Unearthed High upload on triple j Breakfast, our text line has been overflowing with praise.

triple j Unearthed Music Director Dave Ruby Howe says “Picking one winner out of the five finalists and the whole Unearthed High class of 2022 was never gonna be easy. But 16-year-old solo act JACOTÉNE feels like a one-in-a-million talent. Immediately upon first play of ‘I Need Therapy’ you hear a voice that’s out-of-this-world good and summoning some unshakable soul. We’re huge fans of JACOTÉNE already and we reckon everyone else will feel the same very soon.”

It’s hard to believe that JACOTÉNE uploaded her winning track in the final days of the comp, and even called it a demo. Well, if this is the demo, we can’t wait to hear the studio version! And as part of the winning prize, triple j will help JACOTÉNE record, mix and master her next single, which will be played across our stations.

JACOTÉNE joins an illustrious group of Unearthed High winning alumni who have become regulars on festival bills like George Alice, Arno Faraji, Gretta Ray, and last year’s winners, The Rions. Tune into triple j Drive from 3pm when Hobba & Hing have a chat with our winner and see how she’s feeling after her eventful, possibly life-changing, morning.

A big congratulations to the 2022 Unearthed High finalists KAYPS, Mika James, Sunsick Daisy and Theo Landish who most certainly have huge things ahead of them! And you can listen to even more local talent on Unearthed.