Jessica Alyssa Cerro (born 14 August 1995), who performs as Montaigne, is an Australian art pop musician and Twitch streamer. Their debut album, Glorious Heights, was released in August 2016 and peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2016 they won Breakthrough Artist – Release for the album and was nominated for three other categories. In April 2016 they were a featured vocalist on Hilltop Hoods' track, "1955", which reached No. 2 on the ARIA Singles Chart. They were supposed to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with their song "Don't Break Me", until the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they represented Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Technicolour".
Biography
Early life
Cerro was born in Sydney on 14 August 1995, and was raised in the Hills District. Their father Gus Cerro was a professional football player who played in the Australian National Soccer League, as well as for Negeri Sembilan FA and Pahang FA in Malaysia. Cerro has stated that their "ethnic background is a mixture of Argentinian, Spanish, Filipino and French".
2012–13: Career beginnings
Jessica Cerro was a Triple J Unearthed High School finalist in 2012 with their indie pop song "Anyone But Me" but they waited until finishing high school to pursue their music career. In November 2012, Cerro signed a publishing deal with Albert Music and spent the following two years refining their songwriting skills under the guidance of Michael Szumowski.
In late 2013, Cerro decided to adopt the moniker Montaigne, inspired by the 16th century philosopher and essayist Michel de Montaigne. Shortly after completing their HSC, Montaigne began recording their debut EP with producer Tony Buchen (The Preatures, Andy Bull).
2014–16: Glorious Heights
In 2014, Montaigne released their first single "I Am Not an End", which was added to high rotation on Triple J. In July 2014 Montaigne signed a management and recording deal with Wonderlick Entertainment. On 21 November 2014, they performed "I Am Not an End" for the radio station's Like a Version segment, along with their cover of Sia's "Chandelier". The song was listed as its 36th most played song of 2014. The same day Montaigne also released their second single "I'm a Fantastic Wreck", in conjunction with the Life of Montaigne EP. "I'm a Fantastic Wreck" also received high rotation on Triple J and Sydney-based community radio station FBi Radio, which also listed the song as its eighth most played song of 2014.
Montaigne was selected by San Cisco as the support act for their Run tour in November 2014. Shortly after, they were also chosen by Megan Washington to be the main support for their February 2015 national There There tour.
In January 2015, Montaigne won FBi Radio's Next Big Thing Award at its annual SMAC Awards, which recognises "the musicians, artists, performers, restaurants and events that shaped the Sydney's creative culture in 2014". Montaigne announced their first headline tour in February 2015, visiting Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth in April.
In August 2015, they released "Clip My Wings", the first single from their debut studio album, Glorious Heights. In January 2016, Montaigne released "In the Dark", the second single from their debut album, along with the announcement of the In the Dark Tour. A music video for the song followed in March. The following month, they featured on Hilltop Hoods' song "1955", which reached number 2 in Australia.
In June 2016, Montaigne released the third single from their debut album Glorious Heights, titled "Because I Love You". On 30 July, "Because I Love You" debuted at number 98 on the ARIA Singles Chart, marking Montaigne's first solo chart appearance. Glorious Heights was released a week later on 5 August. In November 2016, at the ARIA Music Awards of 2016, Montaigne won the ARIA award for Breakthrough Artist – Release.
2017–2021: Complex and Eurovision
On 4 May 2017, Montaigne was featured on Akouo's single "Feel That". In 2018, they were featured on the track "The Best Freestylers in the World" from the Aunty Donna album, The Album.
In November 2018 Montaigne released "For Your Love" as the lead single from their upcoming sophomore album. In June 2019, they released the second single "Ready" alongside the announcement that the album would be titled Complex. On 9 August 2019, the album's third single "Love Might Be Found (Volcano)" was released. The album was released on 30 August 2019, and debuted at #19 on the ARIA albums chart. "Ready" plays over the end credits of the 2022 film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande starring Emma Thompson.