JADE Is Trailblazing Into The Year Of The Pop Girlie

In 2024 we have seen the resurgence of the pop girlies, with artists like Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX and Addison Rae making big moves in the industry. One artist in particular, however, had already cemented herself as a pop phenomenon in Little Mix, but now is establishing her unique style in the solo-scene. 

Jade Thirwall has proven her extraordinary singing abilities in the X-Factor formed girl-group and now is proving herself as one of the it-girls of the year with singles ‘Angel of My Dreams’, ‘Fantasy’ and ‘Midnight Cowboy’ taking the genre to new places and sounds.

Her first single ‘Angel of My Dreams’ released in July and was met with much anticipation from Mixers and pop fans alike. The track subverted the expectations of a girl-group member gone solo as Jade gifted fans with a weird, bold yet brilliant debut. 

Opening with a sample from Sandie Shaw’s 1967 Eurovision-winning track ‘Puppet on a String’ immediately shows that Jade is ready to make unique and impactful changes to the pop genre. The song has three distinct sections which separately seem bizarre but together create a colourful and chaotic sound, filled with pulsating bass, stunning vocals and sharp changing moments.

The video, featuring epic dance breaks, amazing costuming and even a cameo from Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten was nominated for many awards at the UK Music Video Awards, winning in the Best Editing category. With over 40 million streams on Spotify, the song is loved by fans and critics alike with The Guardian putting it at the 4th best song of 2024. The song, with its story representing Thirwall’s bitter-sweet relationship with the music industry, is a proud and daring debut which makes her character and style known from the beginning. 

After the success of her first single, her next release ‘Midnight Cowboy’ was teased on actor Ncuti Gatwa’s Instagram which featured a snippet of the song with the caption “Giddy Up”. After the unpredictable beauty of ‘Angel of My Dreams’, it seemed hard to anticipate what the new promotional single would sound like, but Jade did not disappoint and brought out a dazzling bass-heavy banger that lives up to, and perhaps even surpasses, the quality of her debut. 

Opening with audio from Ncuti Gatwa saying “Ladies and gentlemen, theys and thems / Hold on tight, the performance is about to begin”, the song is presented as a full-fledged performance, one that Jade does not disappoint in executing. The combination of her soft, breathy vocals with the club-ready heavy beats creates a compelling and cool song to follow the theatrical first single. The song, co-written by fellow 2024 trailblazer Raye, is set to be the B-side for single ‘Fantasy’.

Her latest single ‘Fantasy’ yet again utilises aspects of different genres, proving her versatility in just her first three tracks. ‘Fantasy’ is a sparkling and dazzling disco frenzy which is full of Jade's personality and inspiration from her idol Diana Ross. Similarly to ‘Midnight Cowboy’, the single explores themes of love, passion and sexuality but does so through a much lighter track. 

The video, directed by iconic music video director and artist David LaChapelle, incorporates the disco and funk aesthetic with 70’s hair and styling but includes a twist by referencing the 1976 horror 'Carrie' as the video ends in chaos with a blood covered Jade. It is these shocking and unexpected moments that have become almost a standard for Jade now, setting her apart from other pop acts and this shows a very promising beginning to her solo career.

Jade has shown a different side to the artist we saw in Little Mix and has finally been allowed to share her creative vision, putting passion and energy into each of these tracks. Rolling Stone UK awarded her the Trailblazer award, a well-earned title as her unique sound, despite being underappreciated in the charts, is inspiring and different, attributes that we need to see more of in 2024.

Her skill and versatility is proven again in her performances on Later… With Jools Holland, singing ‘Fantasy’ and ‘Angel of My Dreams’ live on the show. Jade teased her newest song ‘It-Girl’ on Instagram on the 15th of December by posting a snippet of the song and if those twenty seconds are anything to go off, fans are in for a Christmas treat when it's released.

With so many newer artists creating great music this year, it feels like an oversaturated market, but Jade has made her mark - proving to everyone she is ready to make music that is fresh, funky and vibrant. It seems that this year was just the beginning for Jade, so let's hope 2025 comes with much more music from her.

Isabel McDermott

Isabel_mcdermott_

Image: ‘Angel of My Dreams’ Official Single Cover

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