There’s a moment every emerging artist chases: the first time a stranger sings their lyrics back to them. For JJUNE — the Sydney singer-songwriter and producer born Jungwon Seong — that moment came at her debut headlining show at LazyBones Marrickville, when a room full of people sang along to a song that hadn’t even been released yet.
It’s the kind of full-circle instant that defines her story so far. Years earlier, she’d overheard friends singing one of her unreleased tracks from downstairs and felt nothing but confusion — a symptom, she says, of the low self-esteem she carried for much of her early life. Today, that same songwriting instinct is fueling a rapid rise in Australia’s alternative-pop underground.
Who Is JJUNE, the Sydney Singer-Songwriter Redefining Alt-Electro Pop?
Currently based in Sydney, JJUNE describes her sound as Alternative-Electro Pop — a genre she calls “something you’d both dance to and/or cry to.” Fans of Billie Eilish’s moodier, bass-heavy production will recognize the DNA immediately, though JJUNE pushes further into trap-inflected electronic territory, layering hard 808s underneath deeply personal, heartbreak-driven lyricism.
As a fully independent artist, JJUNE writes, sings, produces, and — increasingly — mixes her own music, a skill set she says she built entirely through sheer willpower and a habit of reverse-engineering the sound she’s chasing. “I learnt how to write, how to sing, how to produce, how to mix,” she explains. “I’m currently figuring out mastering.”
Her influences read like a playlist built for late-night catharsis: Billie Eilish and FINNEAS for songwriting and production, Sub Urban’s genre-blurring beats, and rising acts like Sofia Isella and XXXTENTACION. But she’s quick to point out that her biggest influence isn’t a musician at all — it’s the people who’ve passed through her life. “We are like a collage of every single person we’ve let into our lives,” she says, singling out her best friend Riley as a constant presence in her writing.
Beyond Her Own Catalog: Collaboration and Community
While JJUNE keeps her solo material fiercely personal, she’s far from a solo act in the wider sense. She unexpectedly found herself leading the band Crystal R!ot, whose sub-unit, Mystic Circle, performed live on the Fourth of July. As a producer for outside clients, she runs collaborative sessions built around a shared “vibe board” of reference tracks before building a track from scratch — a process shaped in part by a lesson from Perth-based producer Rod Mickle, who taught her that every sound in a song, down to the millisecond, has to be intentional.
That same intentionality defines her next release. Her upcoming single “Vertigo,” due out September 9, chronicles a turbulent situationship — euphoric highs followed by aching lows in the same day — inspired sonically by Aurora’s “Runaway.” In an almost cinematic twist, the person the song is about walked into the café where JJUNE was performing it live for the first time.
What’s Next for the Rising Sydney Singer-Songwriter
JJUNE’s ambitions extend well past a single release. She’s already planning a self-organized Sydney show for August, a national tour launching in September and running through November, and an EP slated for December. From there, her sights are set even higher: charting on Billboard, earning ARIA recognition, landing on Triple J, and eventually touring internationally.
It’s an audacious roadmap for an independent artist — but audacity has been the throughline of her story since she began supporting herself at age 14. “I’m not special,” she says. “I’m just some girl that figured out what she wants and is working towards it. What I do, they can do. It’s a matter of mindset.”
For now, fans can follow JJUNE’s journey and stream her music on Spotify and keep up with her day-to-day on Instagram. With “Vertigo” dropping in September and a full EP by year’s end, this is a Sydney singer-songwriter worth watching closely.
