Early life

Jen Foster grew up in a suburban neighbourhood in Houston, Texas. She began playing the guitar at the age of eight, wrote her first song at sixteen, and won talent contests at the Catholic girls high school she attended.

After moving to Los Angeles to go to college she played at coffee houses and clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go

Whisky a Go Go

The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...

 and The Troubadour

The Troubadour

The Troubadour is a nightclub located in West Hollywood, California, USA, at 9081 Santa Monica Boulevard just east of Doheny Drive and the border of Beverly Hills.The club was founded in 1957 by Doug Weston...

, before ending up as a receptionist for a luggage company.

Disappointed by the lack of success in Los Angeles, she decided that she should go somewhere smaller where she would have a better chance of becoming well known, so moved to Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

.

Music

Jen has said that her influences include U2

U2

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

, The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 and Coldplay

Coldplay

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...

.
She plays house concerts for her fans, and says she enjoys the intimate and cozy setting.

Jen created a record label for her music called American Garage Records in 2003, replacing it in 2008 with a stripped down incarnation called Fosterchild Records. She has said that internet marketing plays a big part in promoting her music.

In 2003, while living in Nashville, Jen recorded her first official CD release, "Everybody's Girl" and started touring. It was well-received and she was mentioned by The Boston Globe, OUT magazine and SHE magazine. In 2006 she released her second official album, "The Underdogs".

In 2009 she released the single "I Didn't Just Kiss Her", a tongue-in-cheek response to Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...

's hit I Kissed a Girl. Despite the controversial subject Jen has said the reaction to her single has been "surprisingly, overwhelmingly positive" although a few people have emailed her expressing their offense.

Her latest album, "Thirty-Nine", was released in October 2009.

Film and television

Jen Foster's music has appeared in:

• MTV's The Hills
  The Hills
  The Hills is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from May 31, 2006 until July 13, 2010. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California, but tends towards a narrative format more commonly found...
  
   (Season 5).
• ABC's All My Children
  All My Children
  All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
  
  .
• American Pie Presents: Beta House
  American Pie Presents: Beta House
  American Pie Presents: Beta House is a 2007 American teen comedy film released by Universal Pictures. It is the third spin-off to the American Pie film series and a sequel to the second spin-off, American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile...
  
  .
• Girl Play
  Girl Play
  Girl Play - a Female's Point of View is an indie film made in 2004 and directed by Lee Friedlander.-Summary:Robin, who has been married to her girlfriend for six years, and Lacie, who has never had a lasting relationship, are both cast to play lesbian lovers in a Los Angeles stage play...
  
  .
• VENICE THE SERIES www.venicetheseries.com
• Elena Undone
  Elena Undone
  Elena Undone is a 2010 LGBT film written and directed by Nicole Conn.-Plot:Elena Winters , a mother and a pastor's wife, and Peyton Lombard , a well-known lesbian writer, are two different personalities...
  
  

Awards

• 2001 Great American Songwriting Contest, Pop category, Winner for "She".
• 2006 OUT Music Awards, Song of the Year for "The Underdogs".
• 2005 2nd Annual International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA), Overall Grand Prize for "Taking Bob Dylan".
• 2007 International Songwriting Competition
  International Songwriting Competition
  The International Songwriting Competition is an annual song contest based in Nashville, TN, whose mission is to provide the opportunity for both aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena. ISC is designed to nurture the musical talent of...
  
  , Adult Album Alternative category, First Place for "Closer To Nowhere".

Studio albums

• 1995: Oath
• 2003: Everybody's Girl
• 2006: The Underdogs
• 2009: Thirty-Nine

EPs

• 2005: Songs from The Underdogs
• 2008: Songs from Thirty-Nine