Yahoo Lifestyle Jessica Lord Channels Taylor Swift in Lifetime's “Christmas in the Spotlight”. Now She's Releasing Music! (Exclusive)
PEOPLE can exclusively premiere the music video for Lord's new single, 'Tread Carefully,' ahead of her holiday movie's Nov. 23 premiere
PEOPLE can exclusively premiere the music video for Jessica Lord's new single, "Tread Carefully"
Lord stars in Lifetime's Christmas in the Spotlight, a holiday movie inspired by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's love story
"I never really saw it in the near future until I booked this project," she tells PEOPLE of releasing her own music
Jessica Lord isn't just playing a famous pop star on TV — she's launching her own music career too!
The 26-year-old performer has been making headlines since she was announced as the star of Lifetime's Christmas in the Spotlight, a holiday movie inspired by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's love story. On Friday, Nov. 22 — one day before the festive film's premiere — Lord released her first single, "Tread Carefully," and PEOPLE can exclusively premiere the music video for her empowering breakup anthem.
Although the original songs in Christmas in the Spotlight were pre-recorded by another artist before she was cast, Lord tells PEOPLE the movie gave her the push she needed to get into the studio.
"This movie just really inspired me to tap back into music and pick up my guitar again," she explains.
David Spowart/A+E
Jessica Lord in Christmas in the SpotlightIn the movie, the Find Me in Paris actress plays Bowyn, a world famous singer who falls in love with a professional football player named Drew (Laith Wallschleger). Lord, who has been dancing since age 4, was able to use her talents as a performer to bring the character to life on screen.
"Honestly, I think that the producers didn't realize how much of a dance background I really had, so I think all of us were really excited to see how I could elevate the role even more than anticipated, especially when it came to the dance performance," she says. And even though she didn't get to record the songs, she still learned how to play them on her guitar to add another layer of authenticity to the movie's musical moments.
The multi-hyphenate, who also created her own jewelry line Bizouxx, "always wanted to come out with a song," but until she booked the role of pop star Bowyn, she didn't anticipate that dream coming true anytime soon.
"I never really saw it in the near future until I booked this project," she says. However, once she was on set, she recalls, "People were like, ‘Wait, Jess like you should actually do this.'"
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Lifetime/A&E
Jessica Lord (left) and Laith Wallschleger in Christmas in the SpotlightUltimately, their encouragement became the push she needed to not only play a pop star but take the first step toward becoming one herself with "Tread Carefully," written by Australian duo Mason and Julez. The song and music video chronicle a woman finding the strength to walk away from a bad relationship and was inspired in part by Lord's own personal experience.
She tells PEOPLE, "In general, it's about someone finding clarity and strength in a relationship, right? And choosing themselves, reclaiming that self-worth, and I just feel like it is inspired by a personal experience of mine — I think that so many of us lose ourselves in relationships."
More than anything, she hopes her song "inspires people to choose what's best for them without looking back."
"I just think it's too common that self-love gets lost, you know, when we're blinded by what love is," adds Lord. "I just hope that this song will uplift those people who are going through a battle and encourage people to choose their own peace and their well-being."
Lord also notes the surreal feeling of going from playing a pop star to making her music debut all within just a few months.
"There's no way that little Jessica would think that she's releasing a song and playing a pop star," she says. "I just hope that I can inspire other people — especially women and young people — to just follow their dreams and persevere and know that anything is possible."
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Christmas in the Spotlight premieres Saturday, Nov. 23 at 8:00 p.m. EST on Lifetime. "Tread Carefully" is available to stream now.
