At only eighteen years old, Talia Jackson has already become a household name, dominating the entertainment industry in all of its aspects as a singer, songwriter, model, actress, and social media influencer. Starting as a vocalist, Talia toured with Andrea Bocelli for two seasons when she was seven years old before her family decided to settle in LA. She decided to pursue acting after doing modeling and commercial gigs, which then transitioned over to movies and television shows along with her brother, Armani. Since then, Talia has shined as the star of Netflix's award-winning series Family Reunion, which showcases the McKellan family as they move from Seattle to Georgia to be closer with their extended family and the chaos that ensues. Since being in quarantine, Talia has spent time focusing on her thriving R&B music career, releasing songs 5FIVE and Complicated which both showcase her wide range of stunning vocals and melodic melodies. Talia is set to release more songs in the coming weeks which will be available on all streaming platforms. I talked to Talia about her favorite moments on the show, her favorite musical influences, and much more:

James: How are you doing during these crazy times? How is your quarantine going?

Talia: My quarantine is going pretty well up until this point in the world. Things are good, I'm working on music, staying in touch with as many people as I can, taking time to do self-care, and working out.

James: What's what's the first thing that you plan on doing once everything goes back to normal?

Talia: I want to go to this one restaurant. It's called Tao. A bunch of restaurants in L.A. have been open for pick up during this whole pandemic. But they were one of the restaurants that were not because they're a nice restaurant to go into. So I'd probably go there first to eat just because I love the atmosphere. I haven't been around people for so long that I need to see them. I love their chicken lettuce wrap with a side of peanut sauce and rice. We have Mochi for dessert. It's so delicious.

James: How did you first get started in acting?

Talia: I first started acting when I was seven years old. I had just moved out to Santa Barbara from Madison, Wisconsin, with my brother and my mom. I got an agent and did a little bit of modeling, which then transferred over to during commercials.

I did commercials for about a year until the agency asked me if I wanted to do theatrical, which is movies and television. I fell into that. Eventually, I dragged my brother into it, too.

James: What's the relationship like between you and your brother?

Talia: We are really similar. Which is funny because we were talking about it last night. I tend to have more guy friends and he tends to have more girls that are friends. We were talking about it and I thought, I wonder why that is.

We have been so similar because we were each other's closest friends. We know everything about each other. We thought it must be because we hung out with each other for so long since when we were little and got adapted to that type of personality, which I can only find in guys, and he can only find in girls.

James: You play the role of Jade as the star of Netflix's award-winning series Family Reunion. What's that experience been like for you?

Talia: Incredible. The whole experience in itself has been amazing and a great building opportunity for me, even with life lessons. I feel like I've become a whole different person since being on the show. I feel like I finally developed into the person I'm going to be for the rest of my life. I give tons of credit to the show. I feel like it set me on a journey with myself.

James: What are some of your favorite moments, both on set and on the show?

Talia: My favorite moments on set would be joking around with the cast. Our director Kelly is the funniest person I've ever met. All of us would sit around and listen to her stories because they are insane and her life is so interesting.

My favorite moment on the show was filming the pilot episode because it was the first script I'd ever seen when I went out for the show. It became an amazing pilot episode. It was really cool. And we had a live audience for that. It was a happy moment for all of us.

James: Was it different for you performing in front of a live audience?

Talia: I think it is a different experience from doing single-camera shows, which is all that I had done before the show. I like it a lot. I like it a lot more than single-camera shows because you have interaction right there and can see what jokes fall right and which ones don't. I think it's really helpful. And I love meeting the fans. It's so fun when we go up to the stands and meet them after.

James: Have you had any interesting fan interactions?

Talia: I haven't necessarily had any there, but I've had people who've been to the show and they've seen me out in public places. Yesterday my brother and I were coming back from a protest and we were getting lemonade. We pulled up to a Chick-fil-A drive-through and when I went to pay, the cashier said that he watched the show. I had glasses on and did not think I looked like myself yesterday. I love it when I don't expect people to know me and then they do. We have a really wide fan base for the show.

James: In the show, your character experiences a sudden change when her family moves from Seattle to Georgia. What's been the biggest change that you've experienced in your life so far?

Talia: I feel like for most people it would be your parents getting divorced. But my parents got divorced when I was so young that it wasn't a drastic change in my life.

I would say the biggest change would probably be moving from Wisconsin to Los Angeles. That was the whole start of my career and the rest of my life since. So in a sense, I can relate to Jade exactly because I left all my friends behind in Wisconsin. Even though I was quite young, it still was very strange for me to get up and move and leave everybody I had ever known and leave the house that I lived in my entire life.

James: What was it like combining both your singing and acting on the show?

Talia: It was an incredible experience. I'm so thankful for Meg, the creator of Family Reunion. When I first booked the show, she was aware I was a singer and had always said she wanted to incorporate that into the show in some way.

Once the episode came around and I read the script I was so excited to finally get to showcase one of my other loves along with the show. It was an amazing episode. The director executed it perfectly. We all love watching that episode. I think everyone does.

James: Besides your show, what are some of your favorite shows on Netflix right now?

Talia: Bojack Horseman, Criminal Minds, Big Mouth, the Society, and Working Moms.

James: What has the transition been like from acting to music?

Talia: I had initially been more of a singer than an actress. I toured with Andrea Bocelli when I was seven or eight before I moved out to L.A. when I was still living in Santa Barbara. My first career choice had always been singing. When I got more involved in acting, my love switched over. I'm thankful now that I'm able to do both.

James: How did you get the chance to tour with Andre Bocelli?

Talia: We just moved to Santa Barbara and my mom had seen something on Facebook. They were looking for kids to sing with Andrea Bocelli and go on tour with him. It was run by a theater group and they had ended the auditions.

My mom told me we should go down and see anyway. She drove me down to the little theater and when they heard me sing they said: "you're perfect. You're leaving tomorrow." I hopped on a plane the next day and was somewhere across the United States singing with him. It was incredible.

James: What's the process like for creating new music?

Talia: I've worked on two songs that I'm close to releasing, along with Complicated and 5FIVE. My lyrics are based on real-life stories and things I've been through.

I sit down with either one of my producers or by myself. I always like to go on YouTube and look up certain beats so that I can get a tempo of something in my head if I want to start writing and don't have a producer around to give me a bigger track custom for me. I sit down and write from experience. It's a really healing process for me. I find it really helpful because it's almost like getting out everything you've wanted to say to a person or in any situation. I like letting it out free.

James: Which artists do you hope to work with in the future?

Talia: I love Kehlani, Lana Del Rey, and H.E.R. Working with Frank Ocean would be incredible, although he doesn't do many features. Tyler, the Creator would be amazing to work with. I went to Camp Flog Gnaw last year and watching him perform was incredible. It felt like I was being swallowed by the music. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

James: How are you hoping to improve your craft over time?

Talia: I want to make a short film or even an indie film. I feel like that would be one way that I would like to improve my acting craft and dive a little deeper into that side of acting.

Music-wise, I want to keep writing. I've pretty much found my sound, and want to continue creating music. I want to continue acting and singing equally.