Jade LeMac Has a Song for Every Emotion

COURTESY OF DREW HALLE

Jade LeMac isn’t listening to anyone’s music but her own right now. For a musician, it might sound mind boggling, but being in the creative mindset means being alone with herself and her own work. Especially as LeMac is looking toward a new era of her music, sonically and visually, she’s locking in on her creative process.

Whether they’ve seen her take the stage at festivals like Gov Ball and Lollapalooza or heard her breakout hit “Constellations,” listeners will recognize LeMac for her gorgeous vocals and lyrics with heart-hitting emotional resonance. Her work doesn’t fit into just one genre, even within her most recent EP It’s Always At Night. But between her impressive vocal range, heavenly layered harmonies and right-to-the-bone lyricism, LeMac’s work has a remarkable fingerprint.

Pleaser caught up with LeMac who shared over a call the inspirations for It’s Always At Night, her connection with fans and what she’s looking forward to next in her career.

An EP for those night time emotions

LeMac explained that It’s Always At Night is rooted partly in her own predisposition to feel everything more heavily at night, and wanting to reflect that in her music. Her lyrics are both vulnerable and relatable, but many of the songs have an almost dance-pop sound that makes you want to sing along. 

It opens with “Running Home,” a slow build that explodes into a synth-filled chorus, setting the tone for the album’s duality. But as so often happens in the studio, this was one of those songs that turned out in a way that surprised even LeMac.

“‘Running home’ was one that was challenging, because originally I wrote it and it was slower and more acoustic. And it wasn't supposed to be like this upbeat pop song. I think it was supposed to be sad, too,” LeMac told us. “We completely flipped it on its head. And then that was a challenge to try and change my mindset and my outlook on the song.”

“Heaven’s Sake” and “Intertwined” have a similarly upbeat sound, while the lyrics traverse questions of why relationships can be so hard — or how falling can be so easy even when you don’t plan on it. On the other hand, “Sweet Dreams” and “Pink Balloon” take things slower, fronted with more piano and acoustic guitar than synth. 

For only six songs, the project covers a wide range of sonic and lyrical ground, which was precisely LeMac’s goal.

“The idea with this EP was just to have an emotion for every song. Each song has a different emotion. You know, there's desire, love, lust, heartbreak, all those kinds of emotions. And I was like, you're bound to at least hit one that you're like, ‘Oh, yeah, I'm feeling that right now,’” she said. 

For her listeners, LeMac’s songs really are the kind that can always feel relatable. Even with a personal specificity in songs like “Sleeping With The Lights On,” which LeMac says comes from a true habit when sleeping alone, the sentiments of love and heartbreak are universal. She says the kinds of things so many lovers have thought privately; it’s an outlet for the writer and the listener.

COURTESY OF SADIE SCHWARTZ

Representing love for queer fans

On top of making music anyone could feel the emotion in, LeMac is singing queer love stories, which makes it especially impactful with many of her followers. A decade ago, many of us remember the revolutionary feeling of first hearing Haley Kiyoko’s “Girls Like Girls.” Now, LeMac can be counted into the growing number of young, queer artists listeners can find a sense of community with — and the value of that cannot be understated.

Even at times when her lyrics are not overtly dedicated to a woman — which, of note, queer songs certainly do not owe the audience — LeMac told us it is inextricably part of the story. 

“That's just a huge part of me and has been a huge part of me. And a lot of my songs are written about my exes or the relationships I've been in with girls. So like a lot of them are hella gay, but it's like, sometimes you don't notice it,” she said.

“The way it shows the most in my songwriting is just through my experiences and me being me.”

As for how she crafts such intimately open songs, LeMac told us she spends a lot of time driving, and that’s become her space to think. Ideas come to her in moments, whether it’s a bit of a melody or trying to work through an idea at her piano, and drives to and from the studio are now full of looping voice memos and recording lyric ideas.

With constantly writing, she’s also thinking about what she’ll make next. When asked about what’s inspiring her new on-stage looks and which artists she might be channeling, LeMac admitted she doesn’t really listen to anyone else’s work when she’s focused on her own. It might be shocking for listeners and other artists alike, but it makes sense — though, she did note what’s coming next is leaning into more of her R&B favorites.

“I feel like I've done a lot of experimenting with my music, especially within the past couple years, so there's not one set genre. But the way I've been describing it recently is I have two sides of me now. I realized that I have my singer songwriter kind of side of me where it's more like acoustic, lyric based kind of stuff. And then I have my like, swag kind of side where I'm making my darker stuff now and I'm just making stuff that I can have fun to.”

Getting comfortable on stage

This summer, LeMac opened for Hilary Duff across North America on the “Luck… or Something” tour. Pleaser had the chance to catch her in Philly, the 30th show, at an amphitheater fit for a crowd of 14,000. As fans poured in, they were welcomed with LeMac’s impressive vocals filling the venue. 

She moved through her set with the power and energy of a headliner, making it easy to imagine LeMac filling a space like this on her own in the future. Even playing her unreleased track, “Pretty With Your Mask Off,” she had their attention captivated. Of course, closing the set with her hit “Constellations” got hundreds singing along, too. You’d never know LeMac had ever felt unlike a natural on stage at one time.

“It's starting to feel more real…It's crazy because a year ago, whenever I got on stage, it was terrifying for me, and I had really bad stage fright. And that's just because I hadn't performed lots. And now within the past year, I've done many performances,” she said. “So I've got reps under the belt. And now it feels a lot more real and a lot more comfortable.”

Fans new and existing danced and jumped, with an especially exciting moment in store for one lucky attendee. LeMac shared that she had previously promised a fan — who cheered right in front of us with an “I ♥︎ JADE” sign — she’d sing “Same Place” in Philly, its debut on the tour. An experience like this is a testament to how deeply LeMac’s listeners connect with her music, and make an opening slot the main event.

The depth of Jade LeMac’s music should make it no surprise she has so many admirers, and is certainly soon to have more from this tour experience. The crowd was a beautiful, butterfly-clad mix of fans from every generation, all of whom could easily relate to the emotional value of LeMac’s music and see her blooming star power.