By Quinn Smalley
Promotional banner for “That’s Showbiz Baby,” photographed by Mila Austin and Conor Cunningham.
JADE’s career has seen many eras over the 17 years she’s been active. She was rejected on her first attempt at “X Factor: UK” in 2008, and again the following year. She returned for a third time in 2011 and got further than she ever did, ultimately getting selected with three other girls to form the group, Little Mix. From there, Little Mix expanded beyond “X Factor” to greater success globally. After 11 years of successful tours and album releases, the group went on a “hiatus,” which to pop fans means only one thing: solo music to look forward to.
It took two years after Little Mix’s hiatus for Jade Thirlwall, now going by JADE to release her first solo single, “Angel of My Dreams.” The single also serves as the opening track to her debut thrill ride of an album, “That’s Showbiz, Baby!” The song opens with a voice warming up before another playfully speaks up and says, “Hey Mike, let’s do something crazy!”, which is a phrase that underscores the journey that “That’s Showbiz, Baby!” takes you on well.
The song starts with JADE luring us in with a powerful vocal run then launching us into a pulsating club beat. The lyrics, “It’s so bittersweet I will always love you and need you, you don’t care,” are reflective of her time in in Little Mix, and describes the time as a “tightrope of gratitude and resentment” in an interview with New York Time’s Shaad D’Souza.
The album wastes no time moving on from the normally depressing topic of being made into a product by the industry and gives us a string of some real potential club hits like “IT girl,” “FUFN (Fuck You For Now)” and especially “Midnight Cowboy.”
“Midnight Cowboy” starts with a cabaret host introducing JADE before the deep, sexy and throbbing base hits leading the minimalist beat. JADE really starts to show off her versatility in this song. Half the song is sung in a wispy falsetto and the other a tough rap with an attitude that feels natural coming from JADE. Lyrics like “Nothin’ wrong with a little horseplay, put me in reverse now, Bitch, I’m a girl cow, watch me while I sit down,” feel like a part two to her feature on Kesha’s “BOY CRAZY.”
“Unconditional,” “Glitch” and “Lip Service” are reminiscent of the pop midtempo songs that were perfected in the 2010s. The latter song, “Lip Service,” sounds exactly like a track Ariana Grande would have selected on her “My Everything” album.
“Plastic Box” is the standout of all the pop midtempo songs on the album. JADE’s voice is dreamy and innocent and the production is classic 2010 electropop; reminiscent of a time when Charli XCX was the hottest thing on Tumblr.
JADE is an accomplished songwriter, having contributed to hit songs during her girl group days, like “Wings.,” She’s written every track on this album. Her songwriting and vulnerability come through the strongest on tracks like “Natural At Disaster” and “Self Saboteur” that explore themes of self-doubt, imposter syndrome and self-sabotage.
A behind the scenes photo from the music video of “Natural at Disaster” posted by JADE on Instagram.
The most poignant and well-produced track on the album is “Before You Break My Heart,” A self-duet, using a sample of Jade as a child singing The Supremes classic, “Stop! In The Name Of Love,” while adult JADE is singing to her younger self, begging her to love herself.
“Can we switch the station, to the affirmations? Will you tell me that I’m worth your love?” and “I’m your day one baby, but you’re forgetting lately, and it’s tearing us apart,” make for some of JADE’s most introspective writing on the album.
“That’s Showbiz Baby!” closes the album with “Silent Disco,” a midtempo ballad that serves as a reminder of JADE’s vocal ability, just in case you weren’t paying attention to the last 13 tracks.
Hitting sultry lows that sound like she’s so close and singing to you in an empty room, to soulful high notes that sound like vocals cut from a Miguel album, “Silent Disco” makes for a sparkling yet understated and surprisingly fitting end to an incredibly strong debut album.
During a summer of strong releases from newer artists like Addison Rae and Lola Young, JADE has found a way to make her voice heard and officially debuted at number three on the official UK album charts.