Culture

Angel of My Dreams: JADE’s debut single and video hailed as a “masterpiece”

By Sam Damshenas

19th July 2024

Jade Thirlwall has delivered the most addictive and innovative debut single (and video) in recent memory.

Co-written with Steph Jones, Pablo Bowman and producer Mike Sabath, ‘Angel of My Dreams’ explores the former Little Mix star’s complicated relationship with the music industry.

A frenetic dance-pop anthem, it takes an experimental approach to pop with several distinct sections, from the theatrical balladry of the chorus to the thumping electro verses, as well as the sample of Sandie Shaw’s Eurovision-winning smash ‘Puppet on a String’.

In a statement, JADE said her aim was to deliver a “relentless, huge pop punch to the face” and a debut single that wasn’t “safe”.

“I’m setting the tone of who I am as an artist on my own. I want people to hear it and be like, ‘What the fuck is that song?’ My worst nightmare is for someone to hear my song and go, ‘That’s nice,’” she explained.

“It’s about how obsessed I am with the industry – so there are lyrics like “love when you call me a star” – but also there’s the dark side that comes with that. It’s not as glam as it seems.”

On the ‘Puppet on a String’ sample, JADE added: “In the beginning of our career you do think you are this puppet, but at the same time it isn’t true – we wrote a lot of our songs, and we were behind a lot of what we put out there.

“I resented that as a statement. So it felt natural to take that and show that it can be true and untrue at the same time.”

The accompanying music video, directed by Aube Perrie, takes inspiration from the sci-fi blockbuster The Fifth Element, psychological thriller Black Swan and Michelle Visage’s favourite film Showgirls as a plethora of Jade clones do whatever it takes to steal the spotlight.

“There’s 11 looks in the video! The concept is sort of rags to riches,” she said. “It was emotional actually because for one bit I’m busking and walking past a Sainsbury’s Local. When I was 16, I would stand outside my local Sainsbury’s and sing Christmas songs.”

Both the track and video were met with universal praise from fans and critics, with one Mixer accurately describing ‘Angel of My Dreams’ as her ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

Another fan described her as – again, this is quite accurate – the “new pop supreme”.

Check out the best reactions from X/Twitter below.