Singer Jessica Lombard Transcends Teens

Jessica Lombard of Torrance has put out her first CD as a singer/songwriter and has retained a New York manager. At gigs in Los Angeles, her parents come, too -- after all, the singer is only 13.

Torrance resident Jessica Lombard regularly gigs in Los Angeles, singing her own compositions while playing keyboard. She has a big-time New York manager, who also handles major label rock band Morningwood.

Jessica just recorded her debut album and boasts almost 22,000 friends on her MySpace page. And the seventh-grader just turned 13. “She still likes stuffed animals - no boys yet - and that's good," said her mother, Kelley, with almost palpable relief.

Yet when it comes to her music, Jessica displays a maturity that belies her age. For one thing, her music does not consist of simplistic pop ditties; instead, it displays a depth even more surprising considering many of her songs were written at age 11 and 12.

“Hey, if you want me to stay, you better know my fragile heart will not be burned in a fire like coal," go the lyrics to her song “Haunting Me." “So don't think that you'll bring me down. For if I ever hit the ground I will just pick myself up again."

Jessica's voice, as well, is no chirpy, kid-like warble. Rather there is a surprising resonance that evokes comparisons to Tori Amos or 1980 s new wave diva Kate Bush. Her manager, Matt Vogel, was so struck by what he was seeing and hearing when he stumbled across her MySpace page, he initially wondered if she was for real.