INTERVIEW

*Photo By Chloe Gonzales by The Luna Collective*

AT JUST 21, JADE LEMAC HAS ALREADY CARVED OUT A SPACE IN POP THAT’S ENTIRELY HER OWN - bold, emotional and unafraid to push deeper with every release. Spending the summer playing festival stages at Osheaga and Lollapalooza and the fall opening up for Maren Morris, the rising queer Vietnamese-Canadian artist is entering a transformative new chapter with her latest EP, It’s Always At Night. The project expands Jade’s world in every direction, blending vulnerability with bite as she explores love, desire, heartbreak and the dizzying process of finding yourself.

Tracks like “Sleeping With The Lights On” is a soaring, emotionally charged pop track that shows just how much Jade has grown as a songwriter and storyteller. Following the release of “Running Home” and fan-favorite “Pink Balloon,” the EP is shaping up to be her most personal work, offering a spectrum of moods for anyone who’s ever been in love with love.

We caught up with Jade to chat her latest project, the evolution of her sound, the thrill and pressure of creating with a massive fanbase watching, and how she’s navigating this next era on her own terms.

LUNA: Since you were on tour during its release, how was the immediate audience reaction ““Sleeping With The Lights On” at first?

JADE LEMAC: It was good! The audience was awesome. I was able to perform it live, so was nice, definitely a more challenging song to sing live. I feel like the audience reacted well to it and everything, which is always awesome.

LUNA: When you play your songs live, is it pretty true to studio or do you switch it up?

JADE LEMAC: I try and make it as close to the studio as I can. I was actually just talking about this the other day. I actually want to spend more time listening to what it sounds like for the audience because I only really know what it sounds like in my ear. Of course, there’s also parts where we change it up a bit to make it interesting.

LUNA: How do you start your songwriting process? Does the melody come first? Or do you kind of have an idea in your head?

JADE LEMAC: It’s different for everyone, I feel like there’s a lot of times where I’m doing melody first, I have a song lyric or something, or a title of the song. It’s really different for every song, whatever comes, if it feels good, then I keep it.

LUNA: Did you have any collaborators on It’s Always At Night?

JADE LEMAC: It’s just me and my producer, that’s it. It’s just us, which I love. I feel like I thrive a lot like that.

LUNA: Sonically, how do you feel like your new songs are going to change? Or do you feel like there’s a throughline?

JADE LEMAC: I feel like I learned a lot about myself while doing this. And I think there’s a lot of things that are similar to my old stuff, as well as a lot of new stuff, with new sounds I discovered and such. I kind of just wrote from more experience and stuff like that.

LUNA: How does it feel to be representation for the queer community? Does the label feel like a limitation at all, with people only seeing you as a queer artist or is it empowering?

JADE LEMAC: I’m very proud of being part of the community. I also don’t want to limit myself to only being known to that.

LUNA: I also noticed on “Sleeping With The Lights On” there is a run thematic. I was wondering if that is attached to “Running Home” at all!

JADE LEMAC: Maybe a little bit, I feel like I maybe did that subconsciously, but there was no direct connection!

LUNA: I was also wondering about the album cover for “Sleeping With The Lights On.” How did that come about?

JADE LEMAC: I had a photoshoot in LA, which was super fun and awesome with some beautiful people and I remember wanting a car to be part of it. We got an old school car and it was awesome. We were just taking some pictures and we all really connected with it.

LUNA: I also noticed in your “Running Home” music video and looking at what you’re wearing now, there’s a fashion aspect to it. Do you ever play around with gender identity and fashion?

JADE LEMAC: When it comes to my style, I’ve never been super feminine, at least with the way I present. That’s the way that I’ve always liked to dress. I feel like I take a lot of inspiration from my dad.

LUNA: What genre would you describe yourself if you could make your own genre?

JADE LEMAC: I think it would be the everything genre because I never want to limit myself. I want to be able to make a super sad song and or a super badass song.

LUNA: With such a big audience, does it get scary trying to find your new sound, with all these eyes on you?

JADE LEMAC: Yeah, a little bit. But at the same time I’m making awesome music, which is always great. So as much as it is scary it’s a fun process.