Janani K. Jha

Janani Krishnan-Jha (October 5, 1998), formerly known by the stage name J. Maya, is an American singer-songwriter. In 2023 she participated in Survivor 45, the 45th season of the American reality-TV competition series Survivor. The release of her debut single in 2021, "Achilles Heel", influenced by Greco-Roman mythology, garnered streams. Her debut EP, Poetic License, received positive reviews from media outlets in 2022. In 2024, she released her debut album, The Rest of the Laurels, with an accompanying novella Katathon.

Early life and education Krishnan-Jha was born in the United States to Indian Tamil parents. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she attended San Mateo High School. There, she was captain of the Mock Trial Team, president of the Model UN, founder and president of the Speech & Debate Club, president/student director of the choir, executive member of the Renaissance Leadership Team, and publicity chair of the Writing Club. In 2015, she received the National Scholastic Award in Writing, which she accepted at Carnegie Hall. She also worked as an intern for United States House of Representatives member Jackie Speier (D-CA) while attending high school.

In 2016, Krishnan-Jha competed in the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships in Austin, Texas. She was named MVP (Most Valuable Punster) of the competition. Shortly thereafter, she began attending Harvard University, where she served as a public service student representative for the Dunster House. She graduated in 2020 with a B.A. cum laude in psychology. She stated in 2023 that she had been accepted into Harvard Law School, but turned the offer down to concentrate on her singing career.

Career In 2021, Krishnan-Jha released her first single, "Achilles Heel", which received more than 150,000 streams across platforms in the first three days of its release. She released the single under the pseudonym J. Maya in which the letter "J" is the initial for her first name "Janani" and "Maya" in Sanskrit means "illusion or magic" as music to her was "100% fantasy, my escape".

J. Maya's first EP, Poetic License, was released in 2022. The EP spawned four singles: "Library Card", "Sunday Crossword", "Machine Learning", and "Three Specters." Poetic License, as well as Krishnan-Jha's songwriting at large, has been recognized by media outlets like NME, Good Morning America, Uproxx, VOGUE India, Forbes, and Coup de Main, and music institutions such as The Recording Academy.

In 2023, J. Maya was one of 18 participants in Survivor 45, the 45th season of Survivor.

In 2024, she dropped her stage name as she "wanted to bring a little bit of myself" into music. She also lists pop artists Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift as her favorite musical influences. Her musical style mixes elements of jazz with South Indian Carnatic music.

Singles as J. Maya "Achilles Heel" (2021) "Thanatos (End of Us)" (2021) "Ms. Protagonist" (2021) "Library Card" (2022) "Golden Age" (2022) "Sunday Crossword" (2022) "Machine Learning" (2022) "Slow Burn" (2023) "The Maze" (2023) "Hellbent" (2023)

as Janani K. Jha "Gladiators" (2024) "Royal We" (2024) "Rainmaker (with Scott Hoying)" (2025) "Prometheus on the 405" (2025)