JADE IS THE POP STAR ANGEL OF OUR DREAMS
Jade Thirlwall, the powerhouse pop sensation formerly of Little Mix, is stepping boldly into her solo career with a bang, and her debut single, “Angel of My Dreams,” is lighting up the U.K. charts like a shooting star.
Released on July 19th, this track is more than just a catchy tune; it’s an examination of her love-hate relationship with the music industry that resonates with a new generation of fans. Blending infectious melodies with a fresh, contemporary vibe, Jade is proving that she’s not just a member of a girl group but a formidable solo artist in her own right.
With her striking vocals and unapologetic authenticity, she’s redefining what it means to be a pop star in 2024. And the excitement doesn’t stop there—more music is on the way, promising to solidify her status as a musical force. Get ready for Jade to take the stage and show the world that her journey is just beginning.
JADE: Hi babe, how have you been?
TAN FRANCE: Really well, thanks! I was about to start going into your single, because I am excited about it, but I also have a thousand questions about it. First off, before we get into it, are you doing ok? Has it been a lot?
J: Oh yeah, I’m really busy, but I love what I do. I’m happy, everything’s good. I’m sure you’re busy too now. How are the bubbas? You’ve got two now, last time I saw you only had one!
T: And now I’ve got two, and I’m exhausted! My eldest just started preschool this week so it’s a lot, but it’s the best. I know that your band members have got kids now as well so I’m sure you hear all about kiddie stuff, it’s a lot. Trying to balance our careers and children is really hard. Jade, should we talk to the audience about how we met?
J: Yes!
T: I don’t know if you remember, so I’m gonna start it. Do you know that the way we first communicated is you tweeted about the show Queer Eye, and you tweeted your love for me!
J: Oh my god! [laughs]
Dress: Mariusz Malon
T: It was in 2018 and the show had just come out and you had said something along the lines of, “there’s a northerner on Queer Eye!” and I was like, “yeah bitch it’s me!” It made me so happy; we ended up chit chatting and we met up at a restaurant in London and that’s how our love affair started. Then we’ve hung out many times and it brought me so much joy, so you were technically the one who reached out so, first off, thank you so much I really appreciate it, and you know I have so much love for you.
Now I really want to get into the single. Jade, I need you to know something. When I DM you, you see it, but for some reason, I don’t know if it’s what’s going on with Instagram, but whenever I post about you, it doesn’t go to you. I can never see it in our messages, and I don’t know why.
J: What?!
T: But I’m just going to pull up something on my phone and I need you to know I have been talking about this song since the day it came out.
J: That’s so weird, I literally have not received it.
T: I know! Every time I check to see, “hey, wait is she getting any of this? She’s not.” [Shows Instagram DMs on phone] You can’t see it because your stories are gone, but the messages I’ve sent say, ‘oh my gosh, Jade! I’m obsessed with this song!’ From day one! Anyway, just so you know, single-handedly I have been promoting “Angel Of My Dreams” in the US desperately because I need the gays to know all about it.
J: It’s the gays, then the girls, then the world.
T: Yeah! So, I’m gonna ask you questions that I would never ask you as a friend because I would ask you for dirty, dirty versions of it, but I’m gonna be professional and ask how did it come about? I’ve asked you a lot of this already, just so the audience knows, when you were in LA. I think you recorded some of it in LA because we had met up at that same time when you’d been in the studio all week, but yeah, but tell me about it. Where did the concept come from? Where did you record it, and why is this your first single?
J: Yes, we met up the week that I wrote “Angel of My Dreams.” I wrote it just over a year ago and I think up until that point, I’d been writing for a year and a half for my solo project, but I hadn’t quite landed on “the song” or the first single. I hadn’t had that belly “butterfly” moment yet, so I was struggling a bit creatively there, and I really didn’t want to go to LA for the writing trip.
T: Why?
J: I’d just had enough. I’d been writing so much music, and when they said, “you know, why don’t you just go back to LA one more time? Let’s see.” I was like, “ugh, fine. I’ll go.” Then I went, and then obviously wrote “Angel Of My Dreams” and I wrote all my best songs [laughs], but I think it was because I’d stopped caring so much. The pressure had lifted, and I wasn’t going in being like, “I need to write a first single.” Also the morning of that session, the head of my label at the time was leaving, so I was really freaking out about that because he really championed amazing artists, and I thought, “oh god, what if someone comes in and they don’t get it?” So, I was really freaking out about that, how fickle music is, all that stuff, and how I’d worked so, so hard for so many years, but as we know, you can go to LA and you’re literally just any other fish in the pond, you know what I mean?
T: Yeah, yeah.
J: So that’s kind of where the beginnings of “Angel Of My Dreams” came about conceptually, and then when I was in the session which I did with Mike Sabath, an amazing producer, he did all of the RAYE record, and we’d written together before.
T: So, he’s just okay [laughs], only wrote RAYE’s record.
J: Yeah, you know, just any old producer [laughs], and Steph Jones, she wrote “Espresso” and a lot of other Sabrina Carpenter stuff, and Pablo Bowman who I’ve known for years. He’s written for Little Mix, but he also did “Miracle” with Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding, so it was a very good team. We got together and Pablo mentioned to me that I had tried to sample “Puppet On A String” by Sandie Shaw for years
T: Why? Why that song?
J: I don’t know. I’m such an old soul and whenever I’m in a writing session I do always pull from super old or weirder references. It’s just my thing. I grew up listening to Motown and I loved musicals, so I’m just very much an old soul when it comes to my music. I definitely infuse it with the stuff I loved listening to growing up. But you know, just for the concept of “Angel Of My Dreams” itself, “Puppet On A String” was perfect, and in my notes for LA I had written “Puppet On A String” as an idea, so it was one of those moments that was meant to be.
Dress: MOWALOLA Shoes: Marc Jacobs
T: I’m going to interrupt with a thousand questions. When you say that you wrote in your notes “Puppet On A String,” every time you experience something, do you write it down thinking, “oh, eventually maybe I could use it?” Or is it typically for a song?
J: Yeah, sometimes I will just think of concepts, and I write a lot of poetry, so I’ll write a poem and sometimes I’ll take that into the session to stir up ideas. But, yeah, if anything happens to me, be warned, because I’m like [picks up phone and pretends to type].
T: [laughs]
J: I’m just banking it, you know? That’s life as a writer, I guess. With “Angel Of My Dreams,” I definitely knew for my first single I wanted a love song to the industry for a number of reasons. People obviously knew who I was in Little Mix, but any new fans or people that just sort of, kind of like the group, there was so much about me that they didn’t know, so having a concept like that meant that I could tell my story very quickly. I could get them caught up in three and a half minutes [laughs].
T: That’s very smart.
Hat: Hat and Spicy Vest: Hanes
J: It just felt more interesting to me to have a song about that than like, anything, and you know, I have had a lot of experience in the industry, so why not write about it?
T: You say that it’s almost a love letter to the industry, but it feels almost like, you can correct me if I’m wrong, if it’s a love/hate relationship with the industry?
J: Yeah.
T: Okay so tell me, I understand the love but tell me about the hate. Why did you want to talk about it?
J: Well, for many reasons. It kind of reflects my sort of toxic relationship with the music industry because you know it’s all I’ve known since being 18. My whole adult life has been me essentially being in love with what I do, and I suppose like any job or lifestyle, there are ups and downs. I’ve had a lot of experiences with misogyny, sexism, all sorts. From the industry to being in the public eye, and the pressures of that. There’s this idea that you’re on this conveyor belt, especially in pop. There’s always somebody else willing to take your spot if you’re not willing to work hard enough, or even if you do work hard enough, you just might not be flavor of the month. I definitely felt that throughout our career, so yeah that’s kind of the vibe there, I suppose.
T: When you talk about that stuff in a song, are you worried about the response from the audience?
J: No.
T: Okay, good.
J: [Laughs] No. Do you know, I think I’ve just done this for so long that I’m not arsed about it to be honest. I think it’s because the minute I turned 30, the weight just lifted, and I’ve spent so many years, especially in my early 20s, just constantly anxious, constantly worrying, “what do people think about me? Am I working hard enough? Does everyone around me think I’m working hard enough? Are we still gonna be signed for the next album?” It’s just constant fear and riding off stress, and the minute I turned 30 I was just like, “oh!” [Laughs] I just stopped caring but I get what you mean in that I didn’t want this song to sound like “woe is me” because obviously I’m very lucky and I know I’m really privileged to have “made it” and get to where I am now, but there’s no harm in telling your truth and I’d like to think I’ve done it in a way that is a bit tongue-in-cheek because that’s my style anyways. I am also saying that I am obsessed with it, it’s me saying that I also do love it. I love it when you call me a star, you know what I mean?
T: You know, we both have friends in our little world, but not many people talk about it this way, and whenever I see you, I’m happy because you say all the things that I don’t ever say publicly, because I feel the same way. I definitely feel the same way, and it wasn’t that I was suggesting the whole “woe is me” thing because quite frankly it’s all relative.
J: Yeah.
T: It doesn’t matter how successful a person is, they can still find things challenging and you can still find parts of your job shit, it’s still a job. I think that people forget that although it is special, it’s still a job, and you can love your job, but it’s still a job. When you are in the booth or the studio and you write this song that is, I’m not trying to kiss your ass, I’ve known you long enough to where I don’t need to, but it was such an instant hit. It was such an instant fucking bop. You did like a 10 second, 20 second teaser a few days before it came out and even that, the transition from the soft to the bump-bump club hit. Did you know, and don’t be modest, did you know as soon as it was finished, were you like, “oh fuck yeah, that’s gonna be the single and they’re gonna love this?”
J: I knew it was special for sure, I definitely had that feeling. To be honest, when we were writing it, it was so chaotic because, you know, on the one hand I’m saying to Mike, “I love Diana Ross, can we make the intro sound super dreamy, like a Supremes song? It’s this loving, ballad heart, but then I was also showing him references of Basshunter and Scooter [laughs]. You’ll know because we’re both Northern, I grew up around that sort of Dublin classics era, like Cascada.
So, I was trying to explain these kinds of artists which is why it’s kind of like a Frankenstein version of those two genres. We kind of didn’t know how it was going to sound and then at the end of the session me and Mike stayed behind because we knew we were on to something and we were like, “we need to cut the vocals properly now before we play it to anyone, we need to get it done.” We stayed into the early hours, and then at the end of the day I think his publisher came in or something and we all sat there and blasted it on the speakers then we were all just silent for an awkwardly long time.
Like, “oh fuck, what is this song?” I remember thinking, “I don’t think I know anything that sounds like this, especially right now,” and that’s when I knew, “okay, that’s the Jade sound.” I honestly thought the label would be like, “this is mental, absolutely not.” I think the next day they called, and they were like, “everyone’s obsessed with ‘Angel Of My Dreams’” and the relief! I honestly thought as I was bringing it out, I’d have much more of a mixed response of like, “I don’t know what to do with it.” I was kind of geared up to defend myself and be like, “it’s experimental, you don’t have to get it,” and then it came out and the response was positive.
T: Everyone got it.
J: Yeah, and everyone was gagging, I was like “oh!” It was so weird, I was like, “oh my gosh, they get it!”
Dress: Mariusz Malon
T: I’m always curious speaking to the person who creates it to know, are you too close to every song that you can’t hear, and you can’t be objective? So, I wonder if that’s a surprise when the audience is as you said, so gagged by it, you’re like, “oh my god, I can’t believe it.” But it seems so obvious to me, right?
J: Yeah, I mean, I knew it was really special. I think in my head as well, I was like, “it deserves to be huge.” I wasn’t necessarily chasing a number one hit, I definitely wasn’t chasing a radio-friendly song, so that’s risky, you know? Thankfully the label and my team were very much on board with like, “no, you’re putting your sort of stamp on the world of who you are as an artist.”
T: What if they say no? I think the audience might be interested to know what happens behind the scenes and even I don’t know this. If you were to say, “okay, ‘Angel Of My Dreams’ is it, I know this is the song” and you stand by it, and the label is like “wah-wah” [laughs] do they decide on whether it gets released or do you get to push and say “nah man, I know that this is it?”
J: It’s definitely happened in the past and that is why I think if they had said no to “Angel” I would have said, “I don’t care, it’s the first single” [laughs] and to be fair to RCA, they really do respect me as an artist. I’m not always going to get it right either, you know, you do have to listen sometimes to outside opinions, but I’ve definitely had moments in my career, and I am speaking for the girls here too, but there’s been times in my career where you do feel backed into a corner with a decision on a song, or you know it’s like, “you don’t do this song, you can’t have this,” and I just never wanted to be in that position again with my own music.
When I signed my deal as a solo artist with RCA, it’s literally written in my contract that it’s my decision what music comes out. That’s not to say if they don’t believe in something they might not give you as much budget as you want or whatever, you have to have integrity and with “Angel” I was like, “if it doesn’t do well, I’ll hold my hands up and I’ll be proud of it either way because I’m in love with this song and I can say that with my chest.” Whatever happens, I’m super proud, and I think it would be so much worse if I brought out a song that I felt was really safe or that I’d been kind of put onto. If that didn’t do well, then I’d regret that for the rest of my life.
T: I will say that I was nervous for you. I think anyone who knows you or any of my friends who are artists, and they bring out a song. But especially you, because you were coming out of a girl band and this was your debut single, and I honestly did worry because you’ve got a wicked voice for a ballad and so I thought, “oh, she might play it safe,” and I was so hoping you wouldn’t, and I think that’s why I was even more excited about “Angel.” It’s weirdly what I expected from you, but I thought that maybe you would have been backed into a corner and done something safer. Something like it’s been written by a thousand people and it’s just “safe,” and a “nice” song. But “Angel” is not a “nice” song.
J: Yeah [laughs]
T: Nobody could ever describe it as “nice.” Look, you can love it or hate it, but you’re never gonna say it’s just a “nice” song. It’s wicked. Were you torn at all when you were releasing this first single, was there another that was in contention for number one?
J: No, to be honest. There was another song floating around, prior to “Angel,” but I think everyone, including myself, was like, “I guess this is the first single.” I definitely hated that feeling, especially with the first one, it’s so important because everyone’s looking to see what’s the first song and it sends a message to the world of what kind of artist you’re going to be so I didn’t like that uneasiness, but the minute “Angel” was done it was like, “no, that’s it.” To be honest, that song has shaped the rest of the record, so some songs that were written before I’ve managed to still fit in there, but we’ve changed production.
Dress: Mariusz Malon
T: Wow! So, based on response from the first single you then retroactively went back and changed shit up?
J: Yeah, so whether it’s been changing an existing song or went back in the studio and wrote some more stuff, we were kind of on a roll from that point onwards.
T: So does the success of number one add pressure for the rest of the album?
J: Um, yeah. A little bit! [Laughs] Once I saw the response for “Angel,” especially when the video came out as well. Everyone was talking about the video, and I was like, “do I just retire now because is that as good as it gets?” I don’t know, but I’ve still got a long way to go in terms of growing my fan base and you know, America is always going to be a dream of mine in terms of cracking it.
T: You were on at the gym a couple of days ago, just so you know! I don’t know how, but it was on at the gym, and I was dying to turn to people and say, “do you know who this is?” It works very well at the gym!
J: Oh good. In terms of America, I’m definitely in my own little bubble because when I go to West Hollywood and see all my friends, they all know my music! I can’t just think that I’m a star in the US because when I go out to Mickey’s in WeHo they play my music, and I think I’ve made it [laughs]. There’s definitely a long way to go, and again with the group we always tried so hard to break America, so I just want to know for my own soul that I’ve tried.
T: I will say, Jade, part of the reason why I was waiting with bated breath for your single in particular is I wanted to know if you could do something that I could hear on the radio here, and that’s why I was hoping you weren’t going to do a ballad. If there is any song, Little Mix or Jade solo, that could make it here in my opinion, it’s this. I know that there’s no comparison and you’re right there isn’t really anybody that’s doing anything similar, however, did you by chance get to listen to Billie Eilish’s last album, [Hit Me Hard and Soft]? Are you a Billie fan?
J: Yes! Loved it.
Hat: Hat and Spicy Vest: Hanes
T: She had a couple of songs that were really good and they start off slow and you’re like, “okay, this is pretty” and then it hits really hard, and she even mentioned that she wanted it to be the kind of song that you’re starting on one thing on the treadmill, and then you increase your speed, and then you are going for it.
That’s kind of what it feels like with this, so I would like to believe that even if there wasn’t the success that one should have seen with Little Mix, because you guys wicked, in the US, that at least this will do it for you. I will say that I’m curious to know because you were the last one of the girls to release a solo. Seeing their success, did that add something to you to think, “okay, I’ve got to keep up?”
J: Honestly, no. I know that the comparison thing is inevitable because we were in the band, so naturally fans, press, people are always going to compare us, and it is a little bit annoying because we’re obviously very different artists.
T: So different! And that’s proven by what you’ve released.
J: I don’t look at the girls and think, “oh, what can I do that’s different to you?” Genuinely we’re family, so I look at them and I’m just proud of whatever it is they’re doing. I don’t have that in my brain to compare. Now and again, I’ll go online and I don’t really go much on Twitter, I sound so millennial right now, X or whatever [laughs]. I don’t go on it often because the minute I do is when I see of people saying shit like that, and it can seep into your brain. I just don’t like it being forced upon me to think of what the girls are doing.
T: Who do you play it for? Do you play it for your bio family, do you play it for your mom? Like, who are your people? Because when I take on a project, I do love that I’m almost like in a girl band with my gay counterparts [laughs]
J: You are! [laughs]
T: We’re over age but we’re basically in a girl group, so when I’m about to launch something, I show them beforehand and I want to know that they like it and we all do that for each other, but I also do that with my family, and my family are very different with how they respond to something. Your mom’s going to tell it like no one else is, so yeah, who is your person? Maybe it’s Jordan, who is the person you play it for like, “god, I hope at least they like it because if they don’t, they’re gonna tell?”
J: Jordan’s definitely the first choice just because I respect him so much also as an artist. He gets it, you know, and he’s not necessarily, I mean he is now because I’ve forced him into being obsessed with pop as much as I am [laughs]. He gets it, you know, he’s not like, “oh, I don’t get this kind of music or whatever,” he just gives an honest opinion, so I really rate that but there’s nothing more humbling than playing your mom music. When I first played the song to my mom, she was literally like, “oh god, it’s relentless.” I was like, “exactly!” She’s not my demographic, so I’m not arsed but then after she heard it a few times, she was like, “okay, I get it, I get why you’ve done it.”
T: Was it for the gays?
J: It’s always for the gays, Tan! [laughs]
T: I assumed it was as soon as I heard it, I was like, “she’s really going for it for the gays.” [Laughs]
J: Yeah, I think it is just who I am.
Wardrobe: LSEOUL
T: Yeah, you’re a gay man. I’ve always known this and that’s why I like you so much!
J: It just naturally happens creatively that that’s the kind of music that I write, but I’m definitely aware that I have a large LGBTQ+ fan base so I’ve been very conscious that when I’ve been writing this music of trying to do it in a way that doesn’t feel opportunistic or that I’m taking advantage of that community. I think anyone around me or anyone that knows me that knows that that’s not the case, but I try my best to be a good ally.
T: I think I know you to be one of the best allies, Jade.
J: Oh, I hope so. I try my best to always better that and put words into action, so I’ve definitely noticed when I’ve been writing certain songs, especially with people that maybe aren’t as privy to the community or know how to play that well, during writing sessions I’ll be like “actually, you don’t get it.”
It’s so hard to explain but you know what I mean, when someone that’s a basic bitch ally comes in and is like, “yes queen, let’s put that in a song” and I’m like, “no, we’re not doing that.” It’s about being respectful of that community but feeding them well and giving them what they want. Honestly if my world tour just meant performing in a gay bar in every country, I’d be like, “win.”
T: Jumping off that, let’s talk about that “Angel Of My Dreams” video, because that is some of the gayest stuff I’ve ever seen and it’s some of the best stuff I’ve ever seen [laughs]. The video is next level! Before we go into the nitty gritty, I want to know who concepts it out? Is it you? And who do you have to get that approved by to say, “I don’t care, we’re spending the money on this, this is the video I want out there for the first time people see me as a solo artist?” Because it’s wild.
J: Yeah, there’s so much going on. I knew it had to tell the story of the song because I know the song’s chaotic, so the video had to tell it in my own sort of fantastical, chaotic way. When I was looking for directors, I fell in love with Aube Perrie’s style, who was the director of “Angel Of My Dreams,” because he tells the story very well, but he also likes pushing the boundaries of what is and isn’t okay in a pop video, he loves metaphors, all that stuff. I did a bunch of calls with different directors and when I spoke to Aube, he just got it. He understood the song.
He was as obsessed with it as I am, and that’s half the battle with someone you work with. You want them to love the song, and we talked about what the song meant, and we bounced references back and forth of how to tell that story. He sent me a treatment and usually when you get a treatment from a director sometimes it’s super vague, sometimes a bit more detailed, it has some references, some images, a concept idea for the video. When Aube sent the treatment, he did it literally shot by shot. It was like he had the gig. He was like, “I am gonna do this video” and to be honest, it was amazing anyways, but once I saw that he’d gone into so much detail, I was like, “it has to be Aube. He wants it, he’s gagging for it.”
It was very collaborative, a lot of back and forth on how to tell the story of these different Jade characters. We both love, horror movies and superhero movies, so the “M” character, Aube wanted him to be this kind of comic book villain who represents the music industry. It was a four-day shoot, so the budget was really budgeting. The label knew that we had to go all out for this, and they were definitely on board with that, and the production company were so passionate about Aube’s work as well, so everyone was in it to do the best work we possibly could.
T: Now speaking of everybody being in it to do the best work, who was the wardrobe stylist?
J: Zack [Tate] and Jamie [Mcfarland]! Who I’ve used for years and years.
T: It’s so good.
Dress: Mariusz Malon
J: And that’s another thing, I think when you become a new artist or you become a solo artist, there obviously is, and rightly so, sometimes people in your ear being like, “clean slate, new team,” all this stuff, and yes, I agree you should bring in new people and I brought in a new creative director, Claire Arnold, who’s incredible. But I definitely think there’s something to be said for the kind of day ones that it’s not just a job to them.
Like Zack and Jamie, I’ve known for over 10 years, when they are working on my project, they’re just as invested as I am, like they want us to grow together, they want to build up my sort of fashion repertoire and you know do such a good job so that I will get better opportunities in the fashion world in the future, so I think that goes a long way, having those people around you.
T: The styling in the video is so good, it’s so good! And the funny thing is, these guys at Galore asked what my favorite look is, and it’s so hard because you had so many good looks! Like even the fucking little black number, it was chic, and wicked and it balanced out the angel outfit. I mean the bride, the veil with the angel outfit is perfection. But I do, my favorite is, you’re too young for this, but to be fair, I’m too young for this too as it’s a very early ‘80s reference, but you’ve got almost a Zsa Zsa Gabor look at the start. Do you know who she is?
J: Yeah, yeah.
T: It’s obviously the massive blonde hair, the blue faux fur, it’s so good.
J: Yeah, the blonde superstar Jade was definitely my favorite to perform and do, and she had the most looks. The blue coat, we had it specially made, so good. The kind of Daphne wig –
T: Love the Daphne wig! [Laughs]
J: There were actually so many pop culture references that went into the styling, and again, working with someone I’ve known for years, it was so good to collaborate in that way and be like, “okay, should we reference this?” Like the Mariah Carey reference in the black mini dress working out, it’s so fun getting to explore all those references and do them in a way that felt like me and that’s one of the things I love about pop videos. Like, getting to dress up, that’s my inner child buzzing with that because I get to do fancy dress and wear these wigs and you know, I do pull from drag culture, too. I’m definitely inspired by drag culture.
T: I’m assuming that this is the case but when you dress up in a way that isn’t your typical style, and you’re playing a character, I’m assuming it then makes it easier for you to act out the character you’re about to play in the music video, because obviously very little of that is who you are. I want to know when you are on a set and you’re filming a video like this, is it daunting to play this wild character that isn’t you quite you?
J: t’s actually easier. So, when I was playing the “normal” version of myself, which you know, was my natural hair, I had the parka on which, was a reference to me being like obsessed with parkas growing up. I forget the character now, but you’ve seen East Is East right?
T: Yeah, oh my god! [Laughs]
Hat: Hat and Spicy Vest: Hanes
J: Yeah I literally wouldn’t leave the house without a parka [laughs] so it was a slight nod to that, but I was actually most nervous when I was doing that and that was one of the first things I did, and when I got on set and suddenly there were all these extras and this whole huge team because it was such a big production, I was like, “fuck, these people are all here for me, I better do a good job.” So, I start thinking, “oh god, I’m nervous,” but then the minute I put that blonde wig on, that fur coat, and the glasses were on, and I had a fucking Chihuahua in my handbag; I was like, “I feel like a massive cunt in the best way.” [Laughs]
T: Yeah, yeah, it’s not you anymore!
J: No. I was like, “I’m a bitch and I love it,” and I literally stayed in character like the whole time. So, yeah, I did transform my personality into this, I guess this alter ego.
T: Has it whet your whistle for more, like could we see you act and in a character role going forward?
J: I’d love to, I’d absolutely love to, yeah. If it was the right thing, for sure. I’d love to do more acting or you know I love musical movies, and it has to be something dramatic. I feel like I do have my own Jade version of Hannah Montana where I’m quite introverted by day, but the minute I’m on stage or the minute I’m dressed up, I do feel like I’m this other person.
T: I do think that the audience who’s reading this might be surprised to hear that that is so true about you. You are really quite timid in real life.
J: Yeah, yeah.
T: It’s as if you’ve never ever been on a stage. [Laughs]
J: I know, I know! [Laughs]
T: You’re just a regular lass, and if I didn’t know better and you said you worked in a call center, I’d be like, “yeah.”
J: [Laughs] It’s so funny. I mean, I don’t disagree! Yeah, I think you know, especially during this whole build up to becoming a solo artist, I’ve really had to push myself, especially in places like LA because you know it’s cutthroat right? I’d be getting these sessions with these huge producers, and I’d literally be going in the bathroom before and looking in the mirror and being like, “get in there and fucking show them.”
T: Because you’re naturally very sweet but you have to be a little cunty, you know? Especially in LA.
J: You have to, but I do like that about myself.
T: Me too. I love that you’re a real person, you’re not just “Jade,” the one we know.
Dress: Mariusz Malon
J: Yeah, I think I’ve just surrounded myself with my family and friends the whole time since I’ve been in the limelight. Whenever I can, I’ll go up North, I’ll go home. I’ve got a bar up North, so I’ll go there and once I step into my hometown, I’m just normal Jade, people do care obviously but you know, my mom will still shout at us if you’ve not done the washing. I’m definitely no one special once I’m around my family and friends, in the best way.
T: I’m the least special member of my family when I’m at home.
J: [Laughs] I think they want to humble you as well though, and that is the thing. At home, my brother will be like, “you’re not a superstar now!” [Laughs] Also I still live with my best friend Holly, who you’ve met, and we’ve known each other since school, and when I tell you she couldn’t care less about what I do. But she supports me unconditionally.
T: You may as well work in a call center [laughs].
J: Yeah, literally. And that is the best thing to come home to, I think. If I hadn’t been surrounded by that the last sort of 10 to 15 years then yeah, maybe I might have changed, but not in a good way. I’ve seen it so much over the years with different people. Everybody should change. You know, I actually don’t like when people say, “never change,” because I’m like, “well, we should, we should evolve.”
T: Change, but don’t become a dickhead.
J: Don’t become a dick, yeah! I think that is why I’ve remained this kind of, I don’t know, normal girly I suppose.
T: You are, it’s lovely. We’ve known each other six years and I assumed that over the years the bigger you guys, got the more non-sweet you guys would become, but it is lovely to see that are just one of us Northern dickheads [laughs], which brings me so much joy. Okay, so, when it comes to uh the next single and the album, can you share anything about it?
J: I’ve pretty much finished the album. I am literally just mixing and mastering. I’ve literally got a video shoot tomorrow and the next day for two new songs.
T: Oh wow, so do you know already know what’s next?
J: I know what’s happening up until Christmas and I know the album should be coming early next year. I’ve got my kind of vision of what I want to do next.
T: Is the rest of the album comparable to “Angel”?
J: It’s a bit of everything. It know it’s a bit of an annoying thing to say, but I really wanted the album to literally sound like I was finding who I am as a solo artist, so there are some songs that are just as chaotic as “Angel,” but there’s also maybe a couple of more straight-down-the-line pop songs.
There’s a bit more cunty vibes, there’s a couple of ballads in there, but in my version of doing it, but like I said, I think “Angel” shaped the production a bit more for the album, so I was going back to those more linear songs and being like, “I found myself, how can I make this more me?” I think I also wanted the fans to be in on that experience and be like, “okay, this is Jade’s project. This is who she’s been trying to be and figuring out what her sound is.”
T: Can I interrupt you by saying what I’ve found funny throughout this whole interview? You keep referring to it as a “project” as if you’ve got a craft project going on [laughs], but it’s a massive single with a potentially massive album coming out and you keep talking about it like you’ve made a fucking beanie at home over Christmas!
J: [Laughs] I’m such a nerd, right? Like I’m big Capricorn energy, I say everything is an assignment. Actually, when I first started doing this for my own stuff, I found like my old writing books for Little Mix and it was so cringy but so pure, because it’s literally like I’d stepped out of college and it was like a Little Mix assignment. Like for the “DNA” song that we brought out very early on, there’s a picture of a human with a diagram of the anatomy of the body.
T: [Laughs]
Wardrobe: LSEOUL
J: As I was figuring out lyrics for the “DNA” song, I was such a loser! But I’ve always been like that, and yeah, with this whole album, I have treated like it’s this university assignment that I have to deliver. It’s really funny, that’s how I get stuff done. I love collaborating with people, I love writing everything down. I hate writing music on my phone or on a laptop, I have to have my book, yeah, I’m very old school like that.
T: Are you never worried that you might lose it?
J: Oh yeah, absolutely. I filmed about a year and a half of this whole album process, and I never backed it up because I’m really shit with technology.
T: Same.
J: Then my boyfriend’s car got broken into and they stole the camera.
T: Oh god!
J: I lost all that footage. I lost the session of “Angel Of My Dreams” and I was absolutely devastated.
T: Hold up, hold up, hold up, though. Whoa whoa whoa. They got ahold of this and what happened? They didn’t try to release it or anything?
J: It was only a shitty camera, a little VHS style, so I imagine someone’s broken in, they took the bag, and they’ve thrown that away thinking it’s nothing and that’s the most annoying thing is it’s somewhere in a bin.
T: No, no, that’s a good thing. Because if they had thought, “oh there’s something special on this,” this release could have been effed.
J: I thought about going online and being like, “guys my camera’s been stolen. If you’ve stolen a camera in Shoreditch in the last two days, can you just open it up and see the gold that you’ve got on there?” What’s heartbreaking is it’s such valuable stuff to me, so that was a big lesson learned. I hate technology, but I do worry about losing things. I am usually quite good at that stuff, though.
T: So, I interrupted you about your album. So sorry, your project.
J: [Laughs]
T: So, it’s done and it’s coming out at some point next year. You’re shooting a video, are you shooting in England?
J: The next two videos, I’m shooting in England, potentially another shoot maybe in LA. I do love it. It’s so stressful that everything’s so last minute in this industry, but I do kind of love it, yeah. And I spent you know quite a long time after Little Mix, so having that soft girly era of like being at home, walking the dogs, having a bit of normality, I was really itching to like get back.
T: Why did you wait a fair amount of time to put this out? We had met a couple of times over a span of time, both times in LA, and I know you had tried to do stuff initially and you weren’t feeling it and then you went back and did more.
Hat: Hat and Spicy Vest: Hanes
J: Yeah.
T: Was the wait because you knew that the initial material wasn’t what you wanted?
J: I think so. I was writing even from the end bit of Little Mix because we kind of knew what was going to happen, so I had started quite early on, but I think also I was just so conditioned to being Little Mix. I can’t explain how much I loved being in the girl band. It was like a breakup. I know we are in a hiatus, it’s definitely not a closed door, but I almost felt like I had to grieve not being part of that anymore before I could actually move on.
T: What is the hardest part of that because we’re feeling it now in our little girl group over here, we know that it can’t go on forever. I want to know what that does feel like for you, and what pressure has that put on.
J: I know change has to happen and I know that’s healthy, and as you say, that time will come for you too, it’s just quite bittersweet because you love it and you know you have to move on, and I think I was definitely the last one kind of clinging on because I just I loved what we stood for, I loved our fan base, I loved our music. I loved getting to work with the girls, and they really do become your comfort blanket, and like anyone who becomes family, you know, you have your ups and downs, but they are family.
T: We’re continuing on, so I guess that there isn’t an end yet for us, but a couple of us have taken on solo projects and I’ve been doing solo projects since the first year of our show, and I do feel a really big difference when I’m performing with my group versus when I’m on my own.
When I was first on stage or when we do speaking engagements across the country separately, it felt like I was missing a literal part of my body because that’s all I’ve known in the public space. When you imagine your tour, and I’m hoping there will be a tour, is there any apprehension thinking, “I’m not gonna have my girlies with me?”
J: Yeah, it’s just me. I think even just from practical point of view I literally hadn’t sung until I did the slower version of “Angel.” I had not sung a whole song myself for 13 years.
T: [Laughs] Yeah, and you’re knackered by the end of it being like, “oh my gosh, how do people do this?”
J: Yeah, it’s like, “oh fuck, I have to do this by myself,” which is amazing and it’s been a long time coming, but just practically, it takes a lot so I have to literally train myself up to be able to do that on my own because you do rely on the other girls.
T: Does it give you a new respect for Beyoncé who throws herself around the stage? [Laughs]
J: She’s a superhuman, like she’s not human. How does she do that? And that is why she is and should be deemed one of the greatest of all time. I really do think that, like, “are we ever gonna have another Beyonce?” Probably not.
T: You could be!
J: [Laughs] Here I am, little Jade from South Shields! [Laughs]
Dress: MOWALOLA Shoes: Marc Jacobs
T: You could be! I’ve thought about this so often, there was an interview where Beyoncé said she felt that way with Michael Jackson when she was younger, thinking no one could ever fucking compete and then she became the person who competed. There’s inevitably gotta be a next one. And you dance exceptionally well!
J: Thank you. No, I do love dancing, I love choreo. I love when I look at pop artists that I’m obsessed with, I want the whole shebang, I want the looks, the choreo, I want the big choruses, I want the costumes, you know? I want it all, so that’s definitely what I want to deliver as a solo artist.
T: Are there any Arab influences in your music on the album?
J: Yeah, some Arabic riffs and stuff. I have tried to reference Arabic songs but I think it just has to be done in an authentic way, in the right way for me. I think the best way of doing it properly would be to collaborate with another Arabic artist.
T: Is there an instrument that’s specific to that region or in the way that you carry a note?
J: Yeah, definitely. I’m still learning Arabic as well, I have my lessons my teacher on Zoom, so eventually, I’d love to do some sort of Arabic project, like having a record or EP that’s working with just Arabic artists and stuff, that’s definitely a dream of mine.
T: Before you go, is there anything else you want to say about the album or the single?
J: I’m just excited to show the world the rest of the records. I’m so genuinely overwhelmed at the response from “Angel,” I’m just really grateful for the respect and the support that I’ve received, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear more music and gag everyone with more looks and choreo.
T: Then I’m gonna leave you with this because I know I have no right to be proud of you, but when it comes to a friend, I’m so proud of you, Jade! I’m so proud of you. I know it can’t have been easy to first of all create an album on your own and then put yourself in such a vulnerable position to put a song out that could’ve been a very difficult song to put out, because you don’t know how somebody’s going to respond to something new.
You should feel so proud that you put out something so fresh that pretty much no one’s ever done before, because everyone is obsessed with it, whether they’re Brits or not. I can’t imagine anyone’s got a bad word to say with how stellar this first single is, and I can’t wait to see what else you do, I really can’t.
J: I really appreciate, honestly, and I’m so glad that you were able to do the interview as well. Nobody better could have done it and I hope I’ve got your seal of approval as a fashion girlie now!
T: Oh my god, like you wouldn’t believe! Last question and then I promise you can go, do we know about a tour or one doesn’t know about a tour until the album comes out?
J: Not yet. I mean, I’ve only got one song so it would be a very underwhelming show [laughs].
T: Does one tour an album, or is that not a thing?
J: No definitely, I hope to tour next year. I still haven’t even done a big performance of “Angel Of My Dreams” yet.
T: I know, I’m waiting for like a big musical music festival in England, so you can do it.
J: It’s such a weird industry now, even from five years ago, I’ve never done a big music festival, you know? Like, with Little Mix, it’d be a big TV lineup or you’d be kind of guaranteed Top 10 because you’d be doing all these big things and TV, it’s just so much harder now. It’s just about you know doing TikToks [laughs]. It’s changed so much, so it’s been weird, actually adapting to that, but I can’t wait to do a big performance, on TV or a festival, and I will have enough music out this time next year to start doing that, so I can’t wait to see it.
Hat: Hat and Spicy Vest: Hanes
TEAM CREDITS:
Editor-in-Chief: Prince Chenoa (@princechenoastudio)
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
Interview By: Tan France (@tanfrance)
Cover Art Design: Carlos Graciano (@sadpapi666)
Photographer: Savanna Ruedy (@savannarruedy)
Photography Assistant: Dara Feller (@darafeller)
Wardrobe Stylist: Zack Tate & Jamie Mcfarland (@zackandjamiestyle)
Hair Stylist: Davontae’ Washington (@iamdavontae)
Makeup Artist: Alexx Mayo (@iwantalexx)
Nail Technician: Stephanie Staunton (@stephie_nails)
