Q&A: ella jane Has Been Waiting Her Whole Life to Write Breakup Song “We Were Just Dancing”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
THERE’S A MOMENT IN BREAKUP SONGS WHERE THE ARTIFICE SHOWS - where the melody is too clean, the sentiment too tidy, the grief a little too packaged for consumption. ella jane's "We Were Just Dancing" has no such moment. The LA-based singer, songwriter and self-described "substance pop" architect wrote her first-ever breakup song the only way she knows how: in tears at her piano, processing something real, reaching for the line that already existed because her ex had handed it to her the night everything ended.
That line, we were just dancing, arrived with the particular cruelty of perfect timing. The two had been at a wedding the day before. And now this. "When you love someone," ella says, "there's never really a 'right time' to break up." The song doesn't try to resolve that contradiction. It just holds it, and trusts the listener to bring whatever they need to it.
That trust has become something of a signature. Since breaking through with a TikTok-viral Great Gatsby assignment in 2020 and releasing two EPs before most artists find their sound, ella jane has been quietly building a body of work that rewards close listening - danceable on the surface, quietly devastating underneath. Now, with "We Were Just Dancing" and a new EP on the horizon, she's entering what feels like her most assured chapter yet. We caught up with her to talk heartbreak, creative freedom, and why pop music is the world's most underestimated trojan horse.
LUNA: You've coined the term "substance pop" to describe your new era: melancholic, danceable, and sharply observed. When you're in the studio, how do you balance that "lodged-in-your-head" pop hook with the heavy emotional weight of your lyrics?
JANE: I've said some iteration of this for a long time, as have a lot of other artists, but pop music is really the perfect trojan horse for shrewd and thought-out lyrics. I also really enjoy the challenge of having to adhere to a certain structure when I'm writing - I think it's really fun to set out to communicate a certain lyrical message while knowing that only a select number of rhymes will work within the rhyme scheme I chose, or that only a handful of words will have the right amount of syllables. I also don't think that for a song to have "substance," it needs to be too verbose or literary. I think the best pop writers use their judgement to figure out what type of lyricism and tone will best fit the melodies and phrases they've created. If you're listening to a song and can be fully immersed in it - meaning, no lyric is gonna take you out of the experience - that's the best. That's what I strive for when I write.
LUNA: "We Were Just Dancing" is famously your first-ever breakup song. After years of writing from different perspectives, what was it about this specific moment or the "titular line" from your ex that finally made you feel ready to tackle that universal theme?
JANE: It might sound trite, but I really wrote "We Were Just Dancing" out of necessity. It was how I needed to process the complex emotions I was dealing with. My ex had said this beautiful thing that applied very literally to the situation we were in (we had just been dancing at a wedding the day before), but even in the moment it struck me as so poignant and universal. So while I didn't write it to be like, "this is a song for everyone!" (I wrote it in tears at my piano, very much all about my own situation), I definitely was aware of how it might resonate with people. It was also my first real breakup, and while the heartbreak was really rough, I did feel I suddenly had access to this essential human experience that people have been going through and creating art about since the dawn of time.
LUNA: You mentioned it's been cool to see fans argue over the inflection of the title, whether it's about timing or fidelity. Does it feel vulnerable to put out a "breakup rorschach test" where the listener's own baggage dictates how they hear your story?
JANE: Sort of the opposite, weirdly. The very first time I release a song, or post it, or even write it - that's when I feel the most vulnerable. Once people tell me how it's filtered through the lens of their own lived experiences, I feel a little less lonely in my emotions. Sometimes, people's interpretations of my songs and lyrics actually reframe how I see my music, and even how I perform it! That's what's so special about being an artist, and having a platform: you can cut through all the politeness and formality of everyday human interaction, and access the type of connection and understanding you'd never otherwise get with total strangers.
LUNA: How has your process changed since the Marginalia era, and what does "creative freedom" actually look and sound like for you in 2026?
JANE: I've been trying to get way more comfortable with experimentation, and even failure. The ability to make something I hate, but to still feel inspired enough to keep creating… that's what freedom feels like for me, at least right now.
LUNA: You've moved from New York to LA, so how has the change in environment influenced your sound, if at all?
JANE: I'm surrounded by so many more artists in LA than I was in New York. New York as a city inspires me way more, but having a community of other musicians where I live is such a special thing. The music that my friends make in LA definitely weasels its way into my subconscious, and probably impacts what I write more than I really know. It's a cool thing!
LUNA: The visualizer for the new single carries a very specific mood. How involved are you in the visual identity of this upcoming EP, and how do you want people to see the world of ella jane right now?
JANE: I love love love making visuals. Being an independent artist, it's been a little trickier to create the aesthetic world of my dreams, but I'm lucky to be friends with a lot of amazing visual artists who helped me with this project (Brooks Travers, Athena Merry, Carianne Older, and Jacq Justice specifically!). This EP represents to me a point of transition. Writing it and putting it together has allowed me to figure out what it is I really want to make, and how to do it on a low budget. I do gravitate towards certain colors and textures, though, and hopefully my specific sense of style comes through in these photos and videos.
LUNA: Who have you been listening to lately?
JANE: Kind of a weird mix of things, honestly. Just how I like it! Been in a big Wolf Alice phase. Hole, MJ Lenderman, Haute and Freddy, The Cure. The new Grace Ives album is great.
LUNA: If "We Were Just Dancing" is the introduction, where is the rest of the record taking us emotionally?
JANE: With this batch of songs, I've been grappling with how to find my center in a sea of change. Relationships and friendships ending and beginning, all while learning who I am in my early-mid 20s. Some of these songs were written a few years back, so it's cool to have a record of that change in real time.
LUNA: What intentions do you have for the upcoming months?
JANE: Recording!! I have so many songs I'm so proud of under my belt. Now comes the fun part.
