Jax

Jaclyn Cole Miskanic (born May 5, 1996), known professionally as Jax (stylized as JAX), is an American singer-songwriter and social media personality, who competed on the fourteenth season of American Idol. Her 2022 single, "Victoria's Secret", reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her debut studio album, Dear Joe, was released on Atlantic Records on June 28, 2024.

Early life Jax was born May 5, 1996, and raised in Atlantic Beach, New York, and moved with her family in 2005 to East Brunswick, New Jersey. She began singing at age 5. Her father, John, was a firefighter who was injured on duty during the September 11 attacks, and her mother, Jill, is a New York City school teacher. After attending the East Brunswick Public Schools, Jax was homeschooled starting in the eighth grade in order to allow her sufficient time for voice lessons, performances, and recording.

In mid-2014, she studied at New York University in London, where she won a John Lennon Scholarship in songwriting through the BMI Foundation. She earned a bachelor's degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Career American Idol In 2015, Jax auditioned for the fourteenth season of American Idol, with the song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles. She sang "Toxic" by Britney Spears for her first solo audition during Hollywood Week, and sang The Beatles' "Let It Be" for her final solo performance. She was the only contestant out of 80 to be declared safe immediately after the performance. Jax finished third in the competition, and her first single, "Forcefield", was released following the finale. In July 2015, Jax and the other top five American Idol contestants embarked on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2015.

Performances Week Theme Song(s) Original artist(s) Result Auditions Contestant's choice "I Want to Hold Your Hand" The BeatlesAdvanced Hollywood Week Most memorable auditions; Selected to Perform"Toxic" Britney Spears Hollywood Week Hollywood round Hollywood Week Group Round "Drive By" with Alexis Glanville, Sal Valentinetti, Kelley Kime and Monica Train Hollywood Week Solo round "Let It Be" The Beatles House of Blues (Top 48) Contestant's choice "You and I" Lady Gaga Top 24 Contestant's choice "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" CherSafe Top 16 Music of Motown "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Top 12 "Back to the Start" "I Want to Hold Your Hand" The Beatles Top 11 Party Songs "Blank Space" Taylor Swift Top 11 (Redux) Songs from the Movies "Grow Old with You" from The Wedding Singer Adam Sandler Top 9 Songs from the 1980s "You Give Love a Bad Name" Bon Jovi Top 8 Kelly Clarkson "Beautiful Disaster" Kelly Clarkson Top 7 Billboard Hot 100 "Poker Face" Lady Gaga Top 6 American Classics "Piece of My Heart""Beat It" Janis JoplinMichael Jackson Top 5 Arena Anthems "Are You Gonna Be My Girl""White Flag" JetDido Top 4 Judges' HometownContestant's own soul "Empire State of Mind""Human" Alicia KeysChristina Perri Top 3 Scott Borchetta's ChoiceJudges' ChoiceHometown's Choice "My Generation""My Immortal""Misery Business" The WhoEvanescenceParamore Eliminated

Funny and Dear Joe,

Jax's second single, "La La Land", was released on January 6, 2016, along with her first music video. "La La Land" is about Jax's experience on American Idol.

In 2017 she released the EP, Funny, which charted at number 17 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums.

In 2018, Jax was invited to perform at the White House's Independence Day celebration. This caused some controversy, due to the feelings surrounding Trump's presidency at the time. Jax then appeared on Fox and Friends to defend her decision to perform at the White House, calling the criticism "vulgarity" and "bullying" rather than political commentary. She continued to explain "I come from a really patriotic family" and that she was intent on honoring the troops during this celebration without listening to the "pettiness" coming from public forums.

In January 2021, she signed a record deal with Atlantic Records. In October 2021, her single "Like My Father" debuted at number 38 on the Billboard Adult Pop Airplay, her first song to chart on Billboard charts. The song reached 80 million streams on TikTok. The song was inspired by a girl Jax was babysitting, to write a song about body positivity that could inspire young girls. In an Instagram post, Victoria's Secret CEO Amy Hauk thanked Jax for "addressing important issues in her lyrics."

Her next single, "Cinderella Snapped", peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart. In October 2023, Jax joined Canadian rock band Simple Plan for a re-recorded version of the track "Iconic" from their 2022 album Harder Than It Looks. In 2024, Jax joined Simple Plan on their Australian tour. On June 28, 2024, she released her debut studio album Dear Joe, on Atlantic Records. It reached number nine9 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart,

On July 23, 2024, Jax released a series of TikTok videos with Haliey Welch. Jax has 14.5 million followers on TikTok. In October 2024, through Musicians on Call and Hyundai Hope on Wheels, Jax teamed with Sam Hollander to write the song "Hope Lights the Way" in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Personal life In August 2016, Jax revealed that she was battling thyroid cancer. Their daughter was born in May 2025.

Discography Studio albums +List of albums Title Details Dear Joe, Released: June 28, 2024 Label: Atlantic Formats: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays + List of extended plays Title Details Funny Released: January 27, 2017 Label: Independent Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles As lead artist

MC: Gold RMNZ: Gold Dear Joe, "Cinderella Snapped" 2023 — 25 23 — — — — — "Zombieland"(featuring Hardy) 2024 — — — — — — — — Dear Joe, "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist + List of singles as featured artist, showing year released and album name Title Year Album "Iconic" (Simple Plan featuring Jax) 2023 Other charted songs + List of other charted songs, showing year released, chart positions, and originating album Title Year Peak chart positions Album UKSales "Too Young to Be Old"202475Dear, Joe

Writing credits Year Song Artist Album 2019 "B.F.A. (Best Friend's Ass)" Paris Hilton and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike 2021 "BDE" Big Freedia feat. Jax and Marc Rebillet Big Diva Energy 2022 "A Little Bit of Love" Weezer SZNZ: Spring 2023 "Scam Likely" Jes Hudak 2024 "Psycho" Hardy Quit!!

Awards and nominations