This current wave of queer artists gathering strength is a pretty undeniable silver lining in such absurd times like these. Chappell Roan certainly is at the forefront, carrying the torch, at this precise moment, sometimes even in cute, bespoke armor, but there are plenty more queer singer-songwriters coming up from the wings including one, Jade LeMac, a West Coast Canadian who is forging her own cool, queer path with songs for everyone. 

"It's incredible to see the representation in the media these days and in music, especially growing up just ten years ago. I remember searching and trying to find new queer artists and it's still kind of difficult. There were a few that I looked up to, but it's not nearly as common as it is today," LeMac opens. 

LeMac, only having just freshly turned 21, already blazed her way to 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify along with hundreds of millions of streams to her album very first single, “Constellations” that boasts features in Netflix’s My Life with the Walter Boys and Tubi’s Sidelined: The QB and Me to boot. When it comes to shining as a queer artist, LeMac beams, "to be seen as part of it is such an honor and it's so cool because that was my dream from the beginning." 

Jade following her middle school dreams has led her to follow in the footsteps of her idols from her youth including Hayley Kiyoko, Kehlani, and Lauren Jauregui of Fifth Harmony, “When it came to Lauren Jauregui, I think I had a crush on her so I think I was so excited when it came to that. I was like, oh my god, maybe I have a chance. I was maybe 12." Like many queer folks, it was a circuitous path to realizing who she really was, "It wasn't until middle school came along where I was like, oh, I think I want to be more than just friends with this girl and I realized throughout all of elementary school, when I had crushes on boys, I always wanted to hang out with their older sisters because I also had crushes on their older sisters too."

So Jade isn’t shy in the slightest about wearing her queerness on every sleeve she has and that absolutely is woven into her music, “if i'm writing about my relationships or crushes or anything like that that automatically has to do with like you know a girl and that's gay.” Still, the humanity in her songs, the explosive feelings she captures in both albums, Constellations and Confessions have appeal across the spectrum of sexuality, a universality to the ups and down of relationships between people. LeMac remarks, “I'm really proud of who I am and really proud of my sexuality even though I still don't fully know what my sexuality is. It's all a journey. I'm also at that point where I'm just like we're all the same. I feel like it's not something that needs to be so special and I feel like when I'm writing my songs, it's not always so specific. I catch myself not even using pronouns in a lot of songs and it's just like as if I'm writing to one specific person and people can interpret it how they want."

Sporting baggy grey jeans, sleek black leather loafers contrasted with crisp white socks and a white t-shirt, and topped off with a sharp baseball cap and silver jewelry (Jade credits her Dad’s B-boy roots for her style inspiration), Jade leans self-assuredly back into a luxury modern couch, gazing upon the wide expanse of an Sunset Strip view to the rest of LA. It’s pretty clear that Jade knows she is on her way to her own stardom and more than ready for it. "Time is going by a lot quicker these days and I really feel it and I think I'm trying to take it in as much as I can and remember everything and work on what I'm working on and take it all and then put that into my music."

Part of this ascent is having the foresight to not be boxed in, very specifically in just one genre, subgenre, etc. LeMac emphatically defies format, "It's not set in stone. It's not in one box. I think there's no specific word or sentence that could describe my sound and I feel like it'll be changing. I think I still want to experiment in different things." Her hit single Constellations does evoke a dreamy-singer-songwriter vibe for the 2020s.  For the music that’s coming out this Spring, she is aiming to have something more as a whole piece that will tell more of a story than her previous two records and for something that’ll be heavier emotionally that should definitely be blasted in your car.

"I think honestly, the ideal place to listen to anything is in the car. Anywhere in the car; I think music just sounds best in the car.”

Don’t be surprised to be stopped at a traffic light, looking to your left or right, and see and hear someone vibing out to LeMac’s latest song, especially since she sold out her very first headlining gig in 24 hours. 

Keep track with Jade on IG, TikTok, and Youtube

Interview by Jake Kroeger

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