Christain Bertrand.
JADE’s been in showbiz for over 15 years, but she’s still checking off firsts.
“[This] is our first Primavera. It's my first time doing a festival show at night,” JADE tells The FADER backstage at the Barcelona mega-festival while donning a bright smile that aligns well with her glitter clad face. “A lot of firsts this evening,” she beams.
The British singer, who got her start on X Factor and rose to fame with the U.K. girl group Little Mix, has been on a stellar run since her the release of her debut solo song, “Angel Of My Dreams” — one of the more audacious, psychedelic major pop records of the 2020s, with tempo changes, genre switch ups, and bold, synthy production. “I just wanted to come out swinging, even if people hated it. I'd rather that than it be a safe song.”
She followed up that energizing appetizer with a full course meal, her experimental pop opus, 2025’s THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY featuring tracks like the heart-tugger “Plastic Box” and the regal euro-slay, “FUFN (Fuck You For Now).” In the end, she’s become one of the rare girl group alums who successfully transitioned into a fruitful and artistically distinct solo career. She still has thoughts on how girl groups — of which there are many new ones rising up, like KATSEYE and FLO — can sustain their buzz and “sisterhood” for the long haul. “I think longevity in girl groups only happens when you don't think you're better than the other,” shares JADE. “You've got to be equal, be a team, and support each other.”
It’s a pertinent topic, especially following the continued hiatus of KATSEYE member, Manon, which is still shrouded in mystery. That said, she’s a fan of the global girl, especially their hard-edged techno-ish track, “Pinky Up” (which divided The FADER’s critics). “[I’m like], slay, every time,” she says of watching the “Pinky Up” performance videos.
The FADER caught up with the singer ahead of her Primavera debut to chat about her hit record, the state of girl groups, her new remix with Lily Allen, and if there’s any new music on the way.
Christian Bertrand.
The FADER: Welcome to Primavera. Are there any other artists that are performing that you are hoping to see?
JADE: I'm hoping to see Addison Rae. We've not met each other, but we're TikTok and Instagram friendly. It'll be cool to see her. Rose Gray is here, who's a friend of mine. Love her.
"Angel of My Dreams" is one of my favorite pop songs of the past many years. I am obsessed with the tempo changes. Can you share a little bit about how you settled on a tempo change at this debut moment?
Yeah, I just wanted to create a bit of a mental song where it felt genreless, confusing, and almost overstimulating. As a concept, it was all about my life in the music industry and how much of a whirlwind that's been. I wanted the tempo to reflect that. So it starts with this ballad-esque tempo, a bit of a Motown reference, and then you snap into the Clubland world, and the tempo ramps up, and then it slows back down again at the end. For me, it felt like a musical with three acts to the song.
How did it feel when everyone loved it?
Crazy. I think I was kind of amped up to fight because I knew it was a brave single choice. So once the reaction was overwhelmingly positive, I was a bit like, "Oh, people like it. Okay, that's nice." It was good for me because it made me be like, "Whatever you want to do as an artist, whatever feels right for you, is obviously the right thing."
You just did a remix with Lily Allen for "Beg For Me." Can you tell me a little bit about that process and what that means for you as a British pop artist?
I love Lily Allen. I grew up singing her songs at gigs. I think at my end-of-school assembly I sang one of her songs. So that sort of staning goes way back. I think her record, It's Not Me, It's You is a cultural pop moment.
It was so bold and brave of Lily to take whatever trauma and awful experiences she had and put that into a really tragically beautiful album [with West End Girl]. So when she asked me to be a part of it for the remix version, I was like, "Yeah, absolutely." She sent me a couple of songs, and "Beg for Me" just felt like the right choice. I liked the idea of coming at it from a friendship point of view and being like, "Girl, come on now." I had a lot of fun writing the lyrics. I did it with Jon Shave, who I've worked with before. You get one chance with the remix verse. You've got to put as much ammo in as you can, hence why the butt plug was firmly stuck in there. I've said my piece.
Your record is so fabulous and epic.We have the deluxe. Are you working on anything? Are you back in the studio at all?
Maybe.
Can you give anyone a little taste of where your creative mind is at right now?
Right now, I don't even know where it's heading. I'm just writing stuff. Whatever I'm going through at the minute, like privately, I'm sort of putting pen to paper. I think this is the exciting phase or the experimental phase, where you don't know what it's going to be yet. For me, that's sometimes the most magical part as an artist when you're writing music. Come and ask me in a few months' time and we'll see where we're at.
You come from the girl group world. I'm curious about you as someone who's been through this experience and now has this beautiful solo career: Is there anything you wish you knew or advice you'd give to these new girls in girl groups?
For the new girls I would say: try your best to stick together. Look, emotions are natural. There might be times when you feel like you're being compared, or you listen to what other people say, or feel a certain way about yourself, but ultimately, the strongest girl groups are the ones that are a united front. So I would say to remember the sisterhood above all else, and the rest will just follow.
Especially now, fans can really sniff out if you're not getting on, or if it's inauthentic. But I truly am loving seeing this new surge of girl groups because it has been a minute, and it's really hard for girl groups to cut through. So, it's cool seeing FLO, Say Now, and KATSEYE. They're all at it, and I love it. The more the merrier.
Any favorite current girl group songs?
Oh, I mean "PINKY UP" is like... When I tell you, every time one of those TikToks comes up where the fans do these zoom-in camera shots of each girl doing the routine: I'm just watching each girl do it like, slay, every time. I love the new FLO song, "Leak It." Love the video. Girl groups are so back with the visuals, the outfits. I love it.
You’re about to play. How long does it take for you to check your phone after a show?
I try not to do it too fast, because I don't want to be sucked into what everyone's saying. I think you have to spend at least half an hour just living in the moment and be like, "That was incredible." Have time to yourself. Be proud of yourself, even if you've messed up. I think the worst thing you can do is go straight to your phone and check. Usually it's really lovely, so that's good. But I've deleted things like Twitter because it's a cesspool of hate. But I think TikTok, Instagram, and Discord are really lovely to look at afterward. But as someone who's done this for a very long time and is prone to being hard on themselves, just don't look at your phone.
Christian Bertrand.
