New Music: Chelsea Jade

We're shining a spotlight on the best up and coming New Zealand artists set to dominate 2019. Meet Auckland-bred, LA-based pop artist Chelsea Jade.

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Auckland-bred, LA-based pop artist Chelsea Jade has been through a number of musical incarnations. She started out busking in Auckland’s Botany Town Centre, before transitioning from the folk-pop of her former band Teacups to her floating, dream-pop solo project Watercolours (with which she won the 2012 New Zealand Music Award’s Critic Choice), and as live backing vocalist for break-out acts including James Duncan and Punches. But it is in her current musical state – shed of monikers and embracing huge, synth-driven pop sounds – that we really get to witness her songwriting chops.

After relocating to sunny Los Angeles to fully embrace the pop music scene, she began writing songs for other people. So, if you aren’t familiar with her own catalogue, then you’ve definitely heard some of her songwriting, especially after a chance meeting at a week-long songwriting workshop led to Chelsea lending her hand to Chainsmokers’ 2018 single You Owe Me.

It’s on her debut album, Personal Best, that we really get to know Chelsea Jade. Filled with empowering, euphoric, honest pop music and songwriting that flips insecurities (and the things others might see as flaws) into qualities worth celebrating, it proves that this is the artist she was always meant to be.

With more new music coming this year, we’re certain Chelsea Jade will continue taking the pop world by storm – it’s time to get her on your radar.

The Story

From the beginning

“I started making music when I realized that the pleasure my body got from ballet came from very poor technique. I would always stretch my arms out too far until my shoulders would follow. I was more in love with indulging emotion than being a good dancer so I quit when I was 15 and segued into music, where my feelings are allowed to contort into any shape, anytime.”

What you’ll hear

“The concept of excitement conjures a weird social discrepancy between New Zealand and America, and I think the intersection is what my music sounds like. I’m so used to the New Zealand way of taking a low octane, understated reaction to any kind of splendour. In the States, there’s a lot of emotive expression. I think you can hear both in my music. As if there’s a lot of important whispering happening at a very loud party.”

Influences & inspiration

“Potatoes. I love potatoes so much. They are the star of any meal. As an artist, I can only hope to be as versatile yet consistently delicious as a potato.”

For the love of music

“I love solving the Rubix cube, which is what writing a song is like for me. The idea is always there, but I always have to try every maneuver to lock in the colour block. It’s thrilling to chase that kind of satisfaction.”

Kicking goals

“I was involved with the conception and curation of an all-female-identifying songwriting and production camp in 2018 that nourished me to high heaven. It felt like a huge achievement for everyone to walk away having worked with at least five more female-identifying producers than they had before. plus, every song was an absolute smash.”

The hard yards

“2018 was like a swirling vortex that I had to balance on the edge of. There were so many challenges that it feels blurry. I guess the biggest one was making it look like it was smooth sailing during my album release, when it felt like my whole life was in upheaval.”

The year ahead

“In 2019, I want to ricochet all over the place playing shows. I want to be buried in tour fatigue. I want to put out a beautiful EP, of which I already have the bones, and I kind of want to fall in love with someone maybe.”