JK Jerome Finds New Freedom with “I Just Want To Soar”

Most of us are looking for some form of freedom. A better life. A purpose. A little more room to grow without someone counting every step with a clipboard. Personally, I think things get interesting when we finally get there and realise freedom doesn’t look quite like we imagined.

I Just Want To Soar by JK Jerome explores that discovery through ambition, disappointment and the simple human need to keep creating.

A childhood sketch becomes a life question

The song opens inside a classroom, where a boy draws with complete concentration and already appears certain about his future. “As you draw, sketch your destiny… always knew what you’d become” Honestly, I see Jerome singing and watching with something between admiration and envy: the certainty of a life that already seemed mapped out.

From there, he makes his own promise: I swore to pour my soul into the thing, carries me above the horde, touching heights so I can soar. To me, soaring means reaching the top. Hearing the applause and feeling every sacrifice was worth it. The second verse paints that dream even more clearly with We’ll be adored and reward will follow.

Then the picture begins to change. We fall short, as the callow chase the stars. That line says a lot with very few words, and that’s what I like about it. It’s about that moment when youthful certainty meets real life, and you realise effort, talent and reward don’t always arrive together.

JK Jerome on a different flight path

When Jerome first sent me I Just Want To Soar, I told him I couldn’t get enough of it. Maybe dreamers like me are easy targets for songs like this. Then I listened to his previous two singles on Spotify… and I completely understood what he’s doing.

Musically, I Just Want To Soar lives somewhere between folktronica, dream-pop and folk-rock, although putting a label on it almost feels unfair. Everything melts into one amazing atmosphere, and the result feels almost unreal. I honestly can’t think of anything else that sounds quite like it.

The production feels broader and more contemporary than Profanity and Any Moment Now, while keeping the intimate, cinematic character that defines Jerome’s music.

Jerome’s writing comes from reality: single parenthood, his Shropshire childhood and the urge to make something meaningful. His journey already includes more than one million Spotify streams, Mahogany sessions, support for Goldfrapp and appearances at Boardmasters, BST Hyde Park and Isle of Wight Festival. Before beginning the JK Jerome project, he also performed live on BBC Radio 2 with Dermot O’Leary. Meanwhile, BBC Introducing Sussex & Surrey and Amazing Radio in both the UK and USA have supported his work.

From wanting to needing

This is where I normally come to an end and share a few final thoughts. This time, though, I’d rather talk about the song’s ending. That’s where everything changes. Above a pier, a murmuration of starlings reveals another definition of success. Creation itself becomes the destination. “I just want to soar” eventually becomes “I just have to soar.” That small lyrical change says everything. I don’t think I can add much to that.

Follow JK Jerome on Instagram, check out his Spotify page, then give I Just Want To Soar a listen or two. I’ve long since lost count.

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