Just when you thought JADE, Mother-In-Training™, already poured all her blood, sweat and angel wings into her AOTY contender That’s Showbiz Baby!, it turns out she had one last surprise: The Encore.
Citing The Fame Monster as “the blueprint, isn’t it,” she dives even deeper onto the dance floor and doubles down on her allyship on the deluxe.
Lead single “Church” is about as bonkers as the song that kicked off the brilliant campaign (“Angel of My Dreams”) but with a LGBTQ+ twist, offering a safe space to the girls, dolls and party boys, inspired by her real-life intro to drag culture as a child.
Similarly, gorgeous four-on-the-floor stormer “This Is What We Dance For” offers solace from the daily horrors on the dance floor, co-written by Julia Michaels and Lostboy. (“Say no more,” as Jade said.)
She strikes a balance between silly and serious, confessing to a midnight affair on “Dreamcheater” (real-life love Jordan Stephens co-wrote it, hilariously) before bringing on all the lump-in-throat emotion with post-split anthem, “Best You Could,” said to be about her father.
There’s perhaps no better bid for pop superstardom here than the lusty “Use Me,” an instantly addictive throbber filled with musical double entendres, which practically purrs Kylie Minogue’s name. (Pick up the phone, KM!)
Then there’s the presence of actual Mother herself with the still-incredible cover of Madonna’s “Frozen” thankfully tacked onto the album, plus “If My Heart Was a House,” a throbbing metaphor/warning about an internal world in disarray, which explodes into EDM euphoria. (A dance-pop Grey Gardens theme song?)
And like several songs on the main album, she tackles imposter syndrome and insecurity on raw closer “Tar,” which starts with a minute of silence. No, it’s not you: it’s meant to imitate a hidden track on CDs. Nostalgia, darling!
The amount of care, clever references and attention to detail involved in every aspect of this campaign – sonic, visual, promotional, all of it – has not gone unnoticed.
Jade deserves all the flowers for delivering such major pop spectacle in 2025, which so clearly comes from a 100% pure love and passion (Geri REFERENCE) for the genre. Brava.
Click here to get The Encore on vinyl.
