After a decade-long break from music, singer-songwriter Jeannie Ortega is back with a new album that she says reflects her most authentic self. “Letting Go,” Ortega’s fourth studio project, marks a return to her pop roots while also showcasing her deep faith.

“This is the album I wanted to make,” Ortega said. “Everything I wanted to say, I said it the way I wanted it to sound. It feels like Jeannie 20 years ago when I was a pop star coming out of Brooklyn, meets who I am now – the woman, the faith-filled woman, the mother, the wife, the mentor.”

Ortega’s journey to this point has been a winding one. Growing up in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, she found solace in music as she navigated a tumultuous home life marked by alcohol and verbal abuse.

“There was never any peace,” Ortega recalled. “So I was like, ‘Maybe this life would be better if I wasn’t in it,’ or ‘Maybe everyone would stop fighting if I wasn’t in it.’ That was a lie that was really inserted in me as a child to pretty much snuff out all the purpose that I have in me.”

But music became Ortega’s saving grace. Inspired by artists like Mariah Carey, she was determined to become a famous singer herself, with the goal of helping girls the way music had helped her. That dream came to fruition when Ortega was discovered by a manager in a New York City taxi cab at age 13.

Over the next several years, Ortega found major success in the music industry. Her debut album reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts, and her single “Crowded” with rapper Papoose went gold, opening doors for her to tour with international superstar Rihanna.

“I genuinely thought I was running away into safety, into something that was secure and that could maybe perhaps offer peace or offer some sense of purpose,” Ortega said. “But that doesn’t that wasn’t the case. What it does is it just kind of feeds this little monster in you that just wants more and more and more and more, and nothing satisfies.”

Ortega’s dissatisfaction with the industry and her own personal longing led her to a pivotal moment when someone invited her to church. There, she had an encounter with God that would change the trajectory of her life.

“In that moment and when I needed it the most, and when I was at my lowest and I was really at the brink of giving up, I had an encounter with God and His presence that changed everything,” she said.

Ortega went on to release several Christian praise albums, but she felt they didn’t fully capture her essence. It wasn’t until about two years ago that she felt inspired to write music again, this time creating an album that blends her pop sensibilities with her faith.

“I finally made the record that I wanted,” Ortega said. “I was trying to see if I should fit in a Christian mold, because I’m a Christian now, right? So, is that what I’m supposed to do? But it wasn’t. It was fun and it was great, but it really wasn’t what I was supposed to do.”

With “Letting Go,” Ortega wanted to be unabashedly herself, even when discussing her struggles and weaknesses. She partnered with Rapzilla and Syntax for distribution, allowing her the creative freedom to make the album she envisioned.

“I just wanted to be me unashamedly,” she said. “I’m a woman, I’m a Christian, sure, but sometimes I have weaknesses and failures and I miss it and and I wanted to talk even about that struggle.”

Ortega’s husband, Ren, who is also a musician, is featured on the album’s gospel-tinged track “Yahweh.” Ortega says she had to push him to step out of his comfort zone and showcase his vocal talents.

“If it wasn’t for me pushing him, he would never do that. But I think he has such a gift. (I told him) ‘Yeah, you have to use that gift,” she said.

As Ortega prepares to release “Letting Go,” she’s hopeful that her honesty and vulnerability will resonate with listeners. The album is available here.