In an empty practice room, Jack Menghini never planned to be heard. Lost in song, he never noticed the creak of the door until he opened his eyes to see onlookers shocked at his talent.

Menghini, a master’s student studying digital social media, may never have begun his musical career had Menji not been caught singing at Loyola Marymount University that day in 2025. Now, after the immense support he received from friends, family and classmates, he recalls that defining moment solely as a happy accident.

“Growing up, I struggled to articulate myself and express certain feelings,” Menji said. “Being able to use music to allow me to express myself even further has been so rewarding.”

With multiple single releases and a music video, a variety of in-person performances of his songs through open mics, Musicians’ Club jam sessions, and gigs around USC Village, Menji is tapping into the music industry at USC more than ever before.

Following his musical revelation, Menji began taking vocal lessons with David Morales, a former LMU professor who led non-music-major vocal training, which were a significant part of his development.

“He was so unafraid to try a lot of things,” Morales said. “His progress really was very stable but also very fast as far as his technique goes.” 

Now, as a digital social media graduate student at USC, Menji is currently optimizing his artist promotion through his capstone project, which focuses on ad placement on social media platforms, digital marketing and frequent new music releases. 

“I even hired a 3D artist, and I have some cool art on the way too, and a lot of new music coming out this year,” Menji said. “I wanted to really see what was working and what wasn’t, because I’m trying to build out my catalog more.”

Menji’s approach to his artistry and music promotion includes his collaborations with artists, filmmakers and other musicians. 

“When it comes to music, there’s not one right way to market yourself, which some might see as a horrible thing, but I think it’s an exciting challenge,” Menji said. “You definitely have to show up every day to it, but it is very exciting.”

On March 6, Menji released his single, “Episode,” a song about the emotional toll of relationship fallout. The track kick-started his 2026 artist campaign and music rollout. 

“I wrote it more out of someone having an episode over platonic friendships, like a friend group in my case,” Menji said of the single. “I definitely liked the initial start of it, but it changed a lot over the course of that first initial demo, or that first initial idea, to where it is now.”

Following the release of “Episode,” Menji dropped a music video for the song a week later in collaboration with USC alum filmmaker Tyler Coon, who co-directed the music video. The two first met while interning for the marketing department of the film company Legendary in the summer of 2025. Prior to filming, the two met regularly to scout shooting locations and plan the direction of the music video.

The music video itself features the fallout of a relationship and Menji’s perspective as he watches in regret as his relationship comes to a close. 

“[The video] kind of took on a life of its own, and it became really heavily about this couple breaking up. I personally pushed it there, because I think it just made a more compelling story for the music video,” Coon said. “That’s kind of how art works, it gets beyond you at a certain point.”

Recently, Menji performed as a feature artist alongside Mia Hartounian, a senior majoring in business administration who performs as Mia Hart, as a part of the Musicians’ Club’s live performance at USC Village. At this event, he played classic cover songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, his new song “Episode” and debuted a new original song “Headlights” that will be released mid-April.

Menji serves as the chair of programming and social media of the Musicians’ Club. As a part of his promotion for his music, Menji collaborates with the club to create demos and record instrumentation. 

Before he graduates in May, Menji said he will continue his artist campaign, releasing new music and collaborating with peers of the Musicians’ Club.

“I obviously want to make sure I’m working hard, but also taking advantage of a lot of these opportunities just being down in [Los Angeles],” Menji said.