Day 26: JADE – THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!
Album cover courtesy of RCA Records
I was writing a little review about one of JADE’s singles from THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! last week. I listened to all the singles she released ahead of the album and loved almost every single one of them, so I thought today might be a good day to listen to the whole album.
It seems like we’ve been in a bit of a pop drought this year. There’s been some good songs released, but it seems like no one’s doing anything particularly interesting or different, I just haven’t been blown away by anything in ages. We didn’t even have a song of the summer! I genuinely think the last interesting thing was Brat, and that was a year and three months ago. But then, along came JADE.
JADE’s THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! Is her debut solo album after leaving the girl group Little Mix, which was formed on TV on The X Factor 14 years ago. The band went on hiatus in 2022, and JADE has since been working on her solo record for over two years. She said it took a long time to get there because she was trying to find herself outside of the group she had been in for such a huge part of her life.
THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! is incredible. There are actually no skips on it. Lowest point is maybe “Plastic Box” as it’s the most commercial of the bunch – it’s got less of a unique sound, but it’s still a very good pop song. It jumps seamlessly from different influences, and her sound is just exceptional. The sad disco banger “Unconditional” is one of my favourites. “Fantasy” and “Headache” are also highlights.
JADE’s debut is one of the strongest pop records I’ve heard in a long time. In addition to being so talented, she’s also charismatic with a big personality and has shown that she isn’t afraid to stand up for what she believes in, even if it might affect the opportunities she gets. Lots of people could take a leaf from JADE’s book. Pop music seems to currently be suffering from being too yellow-bellied. People aren’t taking risks. Seeing an artist be a bit bold, both in her personal and musical output, feels like a breath of fresh air.
JADE’s THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! ends the dry spell we’ve been suffering from in pop. It’s an absolute banger of a record. 9.5/10, will listen to it again, probably fairly often.