With Halloween being Jasmine Ortiz’s “absolute favorite holiday,” it was only a matter of time before the singer/songwriter paid homage to the spookiest day of the year. And that she did today by announcing via her label, KGB Records, the release of her new single Trick or Treat, an alternative pop song about the challenges dealing with dating and getting “ghosted”. “Ghosting” is an expression that describes when a love interest stops communicating with a partner with no explanation—in other words, disappearing like a ghost. The song is personal for Jasmine. “Trick or Treat highlights how spooky that feeling can be,” she says.
Penned and produced by Jasmine herself, the single marks a new musical direction for the 20-year-old artist who has gained popularity with her danceable reggaeton tracks. “Trick or Treat belongs in the American alternative pop scene with both an ethereal and electronic feel,” states Jasmine. “I still love reggaeton and learned a lot in the past couple years,” she says. “Now I’m ready for a shift in my career, I want to show people how much more I can do.”
In her new single, she does it all—writing, producing, playing and programming instruments, selecting loops and more. “This song is 100 percent me,” she says with pride in her voice.
Trick or Treat is a product of the scary times the world is currently facing due to the global pandemic, when creatives suddenly found themselves hunkered down at home for safety. In isolation in her hometown of Stroudsburg, PA or the Poconos, Jasmine found herself experimenting with new sounds and producing more music.
While “Ghosting is a scary reality of dating in 2020,” admits Jasmine, she didn’t want heartbreak and disillusion be the focus in her lyrics. Instead, she conjures the fun spirit of modern day Halloween to deliver a message to a lover who disguises his true intention and disappears with no explanation. Also, very cleverly, she doesn’t allow the song to be dated for October’s scary season. After all, date ghosting happens all year long. “My song goes well beyond Halloween,” she says.
Trick or Treat is the artist’s eighth single in a musical career that was publicly launched about two years ago. Of Puerto Rican, Salvadorian and Spanish descent, the bilingual/bicultural songstress began her musical journey performing and recording reggaeton, releasing dance-friendly tracks, and collaborating with popular artists like Swiftondemand and YBN Almighty Jay as well as renowned producers TrackDilla and Cesar Da Emperor (responsible for hits by Tyga and Post Malone).
SpotifyThe video for Trick or Treat recreates scenes from some of Jasmine’s favorite horror flicks, such as It, Psycho and The Shining. The video is directed by Jasmine’s mother, Maria Picon, who also happens to be a filmmaker. “Unpopular opinion, but I think horror films can be really funny sometimes”, she quips.
Jasmine’s new single arrives at a pivotal time in her career. She is currently a student at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where she is majoring in music with a minor in political science. With classes going online due to the Covid-19 crisis, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity and move to Los Angeles to expand her musical horizons. An adventurer by nature, Jasmine packed up what she could fit into one suitcase and traveled cross-country in an SUV to follow her dreams.
“I’m here to pursue my greatest passion in life,” says Jasmine. “I started playing piano at age three, singing at six, and writing songs at eight. I’ve been doing music my whole life and I have many more songs to share.”
Trick or Treat can be played on Spotify.