Montaigne (musician)
Jessica Alyssa Cerro (born 14 August 1995), who performs as Montaigne, is an Australian art pop musician and Twitch streamer. Montaigne's debut album, Glorious Heights, was released in August 2016 and peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2016 Montaigne won Breakthrough Artist – Release for the album and was nominated for three other categories. In April 2016, Montaigne was a featured vocalist on Hilltop Hoods' track, "1955", which reached No. 2 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Montaigne was supposed to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Don't Break Me", until the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Montaigne represented Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Technicolour".
Montaigne
Jessica Alyssa Cerro
14 August 1995
Sydney, Australia
Musician
- Vocals
- acoustic guitar
- piano
2014–present
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Cerro was born in Sydney on 14 August 1995, and was raised in the Hills District.[1] Their father Gus Cerro was a professional football player who played in the Australian National Soccer League, as well as for Negeri Sembilan FA and Pahang FA in Malaysia.[2] Cerro has stated that their "ethnic background is a mixture of Argentinian, Spanish, Filipino and French".[3]
2012–13: Career beginnings[edit]
Jessica Cerro was a Triple J Unearthed High School finalist in 2012 with the indie pop song "Anyone But Me", but they waited until finishing high school to pursue their music career. In November 2012, Cerro signed a publishing deal with Albert Music and spent the following two years refining their songwriting skills under the guidance of Michael Szumowski.[4]
In late 2013, Cerro decided to adopt the moniker Montaigne, inspired by the 16th century philosopher and essayist Michel de Montaigne. Shortly after completing their HSC, Montaigne began recording their debut EP with producer Tony Buchen (The Preatures, Andy Bull).[5]
Personal life[edit]
Montaigne is bisexual, and came out as non-binary in 2023. They use they/them pronouns.[36]
Awards and nominations[edit]
APRA Awards[edit]
The APRA Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) to recognise composing and song writing skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
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