EXCLUSIVE First Listen: JADE shapeshifts into a pop titan on Angel of My Dreams

JADE may be the last member of Little Mix to debut as a solo artist, but expectations are unusually high for her first single, Angel Of My Dreams, given the artist formerly known as Jade Thirlwall's penchant for a banger (Wasabi, one of Little Mix's greatest, strangest accomplishments was written by her) and knowledge of pop history (she very rightly has gushed over the solo career of Rachel Stevens, in particular her second solo record, Come And Get It). 

Out of all the Little Mix members, JADE has seemed most interested in aiming for the mantle of Big Pop Girl and Angel Of My Dreams definitely shoots its shot, but on its own terms. Official Charts can confirm JADE's debut solo single is a bold and complex introduction to an artist who seems determined to twist and test the boundaries of commercial pop music.

Fittingly, Angel Of My Dreams was produced by American wunderkind Mike Sabath, also responsible for bringing Wasabi to life and, more recently, RAYE's chart-topping Escapism. Much like Escapism., Angel Of My Dreams does not sound like a standard UK Top 40 hit single, and is all the better for it. It opens with a stretched sample of Sandie Shaw's Puppet On A String, before Jade shouts out; 'Hey, Mike! Let's do something crazy!'

What follows is something crazy indeed.

Ostensibly, Angel Of My Dreams is a song about JADE's love-hate relationship with the music industry at large, from her time with Little Mix ('sold my soul to a psycho' feels especially pointed) to navigating shifts in her own solo launch (Angel Of My Dreams was recorded shortly after Jade learned the president of her label, who had signed her into her solo deal, was leaving).

The song's beginning is as atmospheric as it is surprising;  'Angel of my dreams,' JADE coos over heavenly, swooning synths straight out of a 80s power-ballad that could have been given to Jennifer Rush, 'I will always...love you and hate you, it's not fair...' before the track rages into a jagged electronic break-down, with Jade borderline rapping over the beats, speaking of the tender push and pull of trying to make it as an artist. Look happy, be grateful and smile. Do what you're told. Angel Of My Dreams rallies against that notion. JADE will do what she wants, and she's filled Angel Of My Dreams with her palpable respect and knowledge of pop music.

Production wise, at points, there were flourishes that recall Rachel Stevens' now legendary pop bible, Come And Get It (More More More specifically). But whereas the brilliance of that record was seeing producers like Richard X and Xenomania use Rachel as a blank canvas for their experimentations, JADE's personality is front and centre on Angel Of My Dreams. It's the driving force of her entire world as an artist, and what makes her so exciting. 

If we were actually going to directly compare it to anything (and stay with us here) it would actually be the debut single from another ex-X Factor alum, Harry Styles's Sign Of The Times. Now, yes, the two songs share little in common socially; Angel Of My Dreams is not a stately, grandiose Bowie rock-ballad by any means. But both songs attack their artist's solo debut in the same way; they are surprising, sometimes shocking, turn aways from expectations, in terms of their band-member past and what their peers are attempting to do around them. 

The critical consensus around Sign Of The Times was that Harry was freed by the crushing expectations around him; anything he would have recorded would have probably hit Number 1, so he had fun with it. JADE, meanwhile, has no such guarantee of success on Harry's scale (at least not yet!) which makes her commitment to this left-hand turn all the more impressive.

'When the camera flashy, I act so happy,' JADE admits in the pre-chorus build-up, which will be familiar to anyone trying to attempt the dance on TikTok right now, 'I'm in heaven when you're looking at me...' a snarky, sarcastic jab at how much modern celebrity demands of its participants. The most important questions every single artist must ask themselves when releasing music is; what do I have to say? How do I communicate this? Sometimes, this takes several singles or even several album cycles to figure out, but JADE seems to have got it on the first go-around. Her personality, and her point of view, is the single most dominant thing in all of Angel Of My Dreams. Yes, the ever-changing structure and shifting of different genre elements are present, but they all work in tandem with and in service of JADE's ultimate vision. This is her world, we're just listening to it. 

Ultimately, you walk away from Angel Of My Dreams with one thought; if this is just JADE's first single...imagine what she'll do next.

JADE's debut solo single Angel Of My Dreams drops Friday July 19 via RCA/Sony.