JADE crossed the pond to visit the Genius office and break down her debut solo single, “Angel Of My Dreams.” As one of the standout members of Little Mix, she’s now stepping into her own spotlight. JADE talks about working with producer Mike Sabath, the inspiration behind her lyrics, and navigating the pressures of solo success after being part of one of the biggest girl groups in the world and more on today’s episode of VERIFIED.
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00Up until Angel In My Dreams was written, I was going in rooms being like,
00:03I have to write a radio-friendly song.
00:05I have to write a song that's going to do well on TikTok.
00:07I have to write a song that's going to please the label.
00:09And I think that's always the biggest killer of creativity,
00:13when you feel pressure to write something for somebody else.
00:17And the minute you are just doing it to please you or your younger self,
00:20which is what I did a lot with this project,
00:23I was like, what does little Jade want to hear?
00:25The minute I just put myself first in that creative space
00:29was when the best music was written.
00:38So I was in LA.
00:40I was feeling very lonely.
00:41I was flying back and forth, writing with different people.
00:44I was a bit lost sound-wise.
00:46I'd been writing so many songs.
00:48They were good, but nothing was hitting enough to be the first single.
00:51And the session was with Mike Sabbath, Steph Jones, and Pablo Bowman.
00:56Pablo I've known for years.
00:57And when he came in the studio, he was like,
01:00do you remember you used to always try and sample
01:03Puppet on a String by Sandy Shaw?
01:05And I was like, that's really, really weird.
01:07Because in my notes for the LA trip as a concept,
01:09I had Puppet on a String.
01:11So we started there.
01:12We started with the sample.
01:17And then I said to the guys, I want to write a song
01:20that is like a love letter to the music industry.
01:23My kind of love-hate relationship, being a part of it.
01:26How toxic it can be, but how obsessed I am with being a star.
01:30That was the dawn of Angel of My Dreams.
01:37I can honestly say if you're ever in a session with Mike Sabbath,
01:39you are about to do something crazy.
01:42He's got such a kind of beautifully erratic energy.
01:46He's phenomenally talented.
01:47He plays so many instruments.
01:49And he's been a huge part of my album, not just this song.
01:52So it makes sense to shout him out at the beginning.
01:55And I feel like it's become a bit of a thing.
02:05I think I learned very quickly when I was put in the band
02:09and signed my first deal and all this stuff,
02:12that I really was kind of a product and not a human at times.
02:16So that's kind of what that verse is talking about.
02:18Being aware that you are in this money machine
02:21and you're just a pawn in the game.
02:26They say, I'm so lucky.
02:27Better act like you're lucky, honey.
02:30I am literally telling my story from the beginning of my pop journey.
02:34And the idea of better act like you're lucky,
02:36I was told that a lot growing up in the industry.
02:38It was like, do you know how lucky you are to be here sort of thing?
02:41Because somebody else will take your place
02:43if you're not willing to work for it or work hard enough.
02:46I heard that a lot.
02:47So that's kind of where that lyric comes in.
02:49And then the better act like you're lucky, honey.
02:52It's just me being a bit cunty.
02:54Because that's what the beat's giving.
03:16I wanted the pre to feel like this release into this more dreamy,
03:19but I do love it kind of vibe.
03:21It's quite sad really,
03:22because it's saying that even when I feel awful,
03:25I'll act happy for you.
03:26I'll smile for the camera.
03:28Because I'm in heaven when you're looking at me.
03:30I remember my great auntie,
03:33she was really, really poorly.
03:34And she was kind of on her deathbed.
03:36And I had to perform Shout Out To My Ex on The X Factor live on TV
03:41and be like super happy and beaming to be there.
03:44When really I just wanted to get on a train and go straight home,
03:47which I did after that performance.
03:49And I'll never forget it because I turned up to the hospital
03:52and I was super sad, obviously.
03:54And just as I was about to go into the room to see my auntie,
03:57I got stopped by the nurse.
03:58She was like, I'm really sorry this is happening right now,
04:00but do you mind if I take a picture?
04:03I was like, oh my God.
04:05But I was so in shock
04:06and I was so used to having to just say yes, that I did it.
04:09So somewhere there's a picture of me just like.
04:22The Angel of My Dreams is the music industry personified.
04:27I guess before I met my boyfriend,
04:30I guess the industry is the love of my life.
04:32And I'm sure many artists feel the same way.
04:34You know, when you first start off, you just want to sing,
04:36you want to write music, you want to perform.
04:38And then when you get sucked into this world
04:40with fame and fortune and all these things,
04:43it is a tale as all the time of kind of losing yourself
04:46or selling your soul a bit
04:47or having to make many sacrifices to get to where you want to be.
04:52The Angel is the industry kind of hovering over me all the time.
05:05You can tell in the song, there's lots of like vocal, tonal differences.
05:09And the vibe there was like referencing old school,
05:13like Clubland classic songs, Scooter, Cascada,
05:17like Flippin' Phil, DJ Sammy,
05:18all those kind of amazing dance records
05:21that I used to listen to growing up.
05:23To me, it's kind of the most tragic part of the song.
05:25It's kind of desperate saying like,
05:27I love you and I hate you.
05:28It's not fair.
05:29It's so bittersweet because I adore every part of this,
05:32but I'm also feel like shit sometimes.
05:34So it's that kind of constant battle.
05:48I guess I was visualizing moments in my career
05:54where I've had like a huge moment or like I've won an award
05:57and then I've gone back in a hotel room by myself
05:59and just being like the loneliest I've ever felt.
06:02It's the idea that behind the scenes,
06:04you know, so many of the things go on that aren't seen
06:07or that people don't talk about.
06:09You know, I've been through a lot.
06:10I have many friends in the industry too
06:11that have been through some pretty dark things.
06:14So that's kind of what that line is saying.
06:19I feel like from the kind of darkness
06:22or the kind of desperation and sadness of the chorus,
06:25it was time in the second verse to lift things up a little
06:28and get a bit cheeky, kind of take the piss a little bit.
06:31So that's what that's doing.
06:32Whenever we'd go into the label,
06:34if something like big was happening,
06:36there'd always be like plates of sushi on the meeting table.
06:39It was such a strong visual for me
06:40because I really hate sushi.
06:42And all the time I'd just be like staring at the sushi.
06:44Like I probably bought that with all the royalties
06:46from the last number on it.
06:48Got you a car, got you a house, got you a suit, it's Gucci.
06:52It's this idea that when you're in like a machine
06:54or in a big label, you're making them so much money.
06:57You are funding their lifestyle to a degree
07:00when they do well because of you.
07:08Oh, she's getting a bit sassy now.
07:10Even when we were at our height,
07:12even when we were doing so well,
07:14if our next album didn't do well, that's it, you're dropped.
07:17So the flip side of that is,
07:18but when I pop off, you sue me, so sue me.
07:20I kind of drew that from people I know
07:23and their experiences of like them doing well
07:26or finding a clause in the contract
07:27and being able to get out of it.
07:29I do know of stories very close to me
07:32of people threatening to sue
07:33when someone can manage to get out of it
07:36or they're popping off.
07:48This is probably my favorite bit of the song
07:50is when at the end of chorus two,
07:52you have that like surge that,
07:55it's like you're being wound up again
07:57and like a jack-in-the-box or something.
07:59And then it bursts into the final chorus
08:02where we slow the tempo down,
08:03we're back at, you know, normal pitch vocal,
08:06and that's the start of the song.
08:08And then at the end,
08:08it's like, yeah, we're all in the wrong place.
08:10It's like, we're all in the wrong place.
08:11We're all in the wrong place,
08:13and we're all in the wrong place.
08:14And then it's like,
08:15we're stuck in the wrong place.
08:16normal pitch vocal.
08:17And that's the kind of, you know,
08:19ballads, arm swing moment,
08:22the grand finale of Angel of My Dreams.
08:25And I love, love, love that part of the song so much
08:28because yes, it's unexpected,
08:30but it also feels quite emotional.
08:32It feels like you've been punched in the face
08:35or you've been beaten up.
08:36And then finally someone's come over and be like,
08:38come on, come here.
08:40I look after you.
08:42♪ And I'll always love you. ♪
08:50It's just so true.
08:51Like I love music.
08:53Music's healing.
08:54It's so powerful.
08:55You know, it's got me through so much.
08:58It was the perfect way to round up the song.
08:59So it's like after all this,
09:01after all that drama,
09:02all the ups and downs,
09:03the good and the bad,
09:04at the root of it is the music.
09:06And I'll always love that.
09:09Three things that I love about the industry,
09:11performing, like touring,
09:13is the best part of being an artist.
09:16I think, you know,
09:17traveling the world,
09:18seeing all the fans,
09:19it doesn't get any better than that.
09:21Writing music,
09:22I love, love, love.
09:24I guess the success has meant
09:25that I can help my family and friends.
09:28And I think that's a really beautiful thing.
09:30The things I hate,
09:31misogyny for sure.
09:32Another thing I hate is
09:35when you're in pop,
09:36sometimes it's hard to prove your credibility.
09:38People just assume maybe you don't write music
09:41or I don't know.
09:42There's sometimes a weird
09:44like snobbery around pop artists.
09:47The third thing I hate is
09:50royalty splits.
09:52What I do think sucks is
09:54it's still not fair yet for songwriters.
09:56It's like, you know,
09:57a triangle of power
09:58with these royalties
09:59and people at the top
10:00who probably do the least amount of work
10:02to contribute to making a song
10:04get the most.
10:05It's not fair.