“Lottery” premiered last week to immediate critical response—MTVhailed, “Jade Bird gives Joni Mitchell a run for her money on this beautiful new single,” The Boot furthers, “Jade Bird’s one-of-a-kind voice shines,” and Apple Music featured Jade as “Artist of the Week.” Most recently, Jade was chosen as part of the inaugural class of NPR Music Slingshot Artists.
Capping off 2017, which saw the release of her breakout, debut EP Something American, Jade spoke with Zane Lowe on Beats 1 and was featured on NPR’s World Cafe. She also made her network television debut performing the EP’s single “Cathedral” on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Born in Hexham, U.K., Jade’s early life was spent mainly in flight as an “army brat,” with time spent in South Wales, Germany and Chesterfield. One of life’s few constants proved to be the influence of strong working women. At first via her mother and grandmother, who largely raised her, but later the female role models within the musical subcultures Jade become obsessed with: from empowering country heroines like Loretta Lynn to iconic alternative songwriters like Patti Smith, and following a thread through folk and Americana to incorporating such confessional, undiluted songwriting into pop music (Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill was a similarly early touchstone).