With so many young artists surfacing in the music business these days, being successful is harder than ever before – just ask Jessica Lerner, whose hard work and tenacity has helped her become a success in the local music scene.

Lerner is a singer and songwriter from San Diego who made her performing debut while acting at the age of five and has not looked back since then. She has performed the national anthem several times for both the Padres and the Chargers, writes her own music, performs often and is currently working on her debut album, which will be released sometime this year.

While in high school, she continued her artistic studies and completed a four-year musical theatre program at the Coronado School of the Arts. In 2007, she was awarded a National Youth Theatre “Billie” Award for her portrayal of Ariel in a production of Footloose, which she performed in while studying at Coronado.

Lerner is musically trained in both the guitar and the piano, proficiently using both dynamics in her material. When she was younger, she would write pop songs with her guitar instead of learning the classical piano, but now she is equally skilled with both instruments. Her mother Pamela Lerner jokingly says that her daughter’s piano is her boyfriend.

“Whenever I have a problem, I go straight to my piano and vent for a few hours. If all goes well, even if I had the worst day, at least I got a song out of it,” says Jessica Lerner.

Despite not currently being signed to a recording label, Lerner writes, records and produces her own material with the help of her manager, who is her ever faithful and loving mother.

Pamela Lerner is in charge of booking Jessica’s performances and ultimately she is responsible for getting her daughter’s name out to the public. Jessica may be familiar to a lot of people, as she often performs at local San Diego malls.

As far as her sound goes, Lerner’s music is categorized in the genre of pop, with a side of soft rock. She displays these genres in many of her songs, such as Miracle and I Don’t Want You Anymore.

Her songwriting technique reminds listeners of that of Jason Mraz, while her soothing vocals and performing style are reminiscent of Taylor Swift. Coincidentally, she lists these two musicians as her favorite artists.

Her material covers a wide assortment of topics. Lerner wrote Hey Mason for her titular friend who has a rare childhood disease called Juvenile Dermatomyositis. Her song Miracle is about the “miracle moments” that one experiences – those moments where “someone you love makes you cry because you are so happy,” according to Lerner.

“I come up with songs very randomly. Ideas usually come to me when I’m trying to go to bed. I usually write about things that are happening at that time,” said Lerner during an interview with iStarz.

Having just turned 21, Lerner is already living the dream that many others can only hope for. She’s actively pursuing what she loves and has the complete package to make it happen: looks, sound and confidence. She is in the process of wrapping up her debut album and is touring locally to promote her music.

Catch Jessica Lerner perform on Nov. 12 at the Walk to Cure Diabetes at Balboa Park and the Parade Band Foundation at Otay Ranch Mall.