“Brightest Star” is currently this year’s official campaign song for the Susan G. Komen Foundation For the Cure. When you download this song from Itunes, you will be helping fund the cure for breast cancer, as well as provide specific communities of women the resources they need for early detection. Every download makes a difference!

The Story behind "Brightest Star"

by Toby Rand (lead singer for Juke Kartel)

“This song was created from a vision I had 5 months ago when our drummer Jay turned up to sound check, at the Hotel Cafe in L.A., in tears. He explained that his mum (Fransie) had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and it was spreading. The news really shook us and the night's performance was memorable as Jay played through the tears. It got me thinking…music helped Jay to nurture his pain and sorrow and he used it to move an entire room full of people. So, I thought a song about Fransie and her battle would be a great way to redirect the energy and focus on recovery.

Breast Cancer has affected a lot of us. We all know someone, or of someone, who has survived, died or currently battling. This song is recognition for those brave women who are being struck so frequently. The words to this song didn't come easily. Firstly, I made contact with Fransie via email and we struck up a friendship, that would find me writing to her almost every day while she updated me on her progress, all the while making sure Jay was ok. Even in her deepest hole, Fransie was always looking out for other people. She would even worry about me and the rest of the boys as we would face our own little battles in the music industry. I found this inspiring, unselfish and beautiful. A woman, who is staring at death, can only focus on making sure other's around her are ok. With the final aid of Trina Harmon (an amazing songwriter/musician), I crafted the lyrics to its final point. Musically, we have created a song that takes you through the realization of the woman falling sick and questioning herself "Why?, How can I beat this?" and the finale of the family coming to her side to raise her and acknowledge all that is beauty within her.

This song tells the woman in need to take some life for herself. She has always been the giver in her family, but now it's time for her to receive. Break the old habits of putting herself secondary all the time. It's her time to be nurtured, so that she can recover and be there for her family until her rightful end of life. The mother's and women in our families are the Brightest Stars. They carry us through everything and love and care for us no matter what. Hearing how the Pinfold's have gathered around Fransie, since her diagnosis, is beautiful. They are lifting her up and allowing her the energy to keep overcoming these hurdles. I hope this song will reach people who are going through similar life challenges and offer them inspiration. Thank you to Fransie for allowing us to enter your life, and for letting Juke Kartel express through music.”