Dance-Pop Icon Jade Starling Celebrates 1st Solo Album, CAPTIVE; 1st Single Hits Billboard Top 30
By: Courtnie Mele Jul. 03, 2014
New Jersey's own JADE STARLING, best known as the vocalizing half of the platinum-selling duo Pretty Poison (#1 hit "Catch Me, I'm Falling" on Virgin Records), will release her first-ever solo work, CAPTIVE, Aug. 12, on Subpoena/Universal.
CAPTIVE features collaborations with Lee Dagger of the hugely successful English remix team Bimbo Jones (Lady Gaga, Rihanna, KylieMinogue), newcomer Laszlo (Selena Gomez, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Bieber & Nicki Minaj) and French DJ/remixer Franck Dona (Universal France). The disc has already yielded the hit single "Insomniak," which cracked the Top 30 on Billboard magazine's dance chart.
According to the flame-tressed, the South Jersey diva and lifelong Camden County resident, CAPTIVE, two years in the making, ended in a much different place from where it started. Jade and her long-time partner, keyboardist-producer Whey Cooler, originally intended to create something in the vein of their dance-popping predecessors, released under the Pretty Poison banner. But along the way, they decided to bring in outside collaborators to give their tracks a more contemporary sound.
"This is a dance record," says Jade. "Collaborating with international DJs gave it a fresh new sound, and inspired us to write many new songs."
Not that dance music is new territory for Jade and Whey. "We've been doing electronic music since the beginning of our careers," says Jade. "Now it just has a label - 'EDM.' We're about what's happening next. We've always tried to stay ahead of the curve and not follow it."
Despite its infectious beats, CAPTIVE is about far more than just dance floor grooves. Lyrically, Jade examines the human condition in ways that are instantly relatable and relevant to club kids and everyone else.
"The record takes you on an emotional journey from start to finish," she explains. "From the opening track, 'Everything in the World,' which really sums it up - 'I want it all, I want it now, I want everything in the world' - it covers the gamut of emotions from breakups to falling in love. The new single, 'Think About U,' captures the first time you fall in love, getting back to those pure feelings that you felt."
For Jade and Whey, new material, new sonic partnerships and the desire to reach new audiences meant the old moniker had to go.
"We wanted to put something out that was current and had relevance," Jade reasons. "If it was called 'Pretty Poison,' people may have a preconceived notion. It's still Jade Starling with Whey Cooler and our collaborators. By using my name it's a fresh way of re-introducing myself to the music world. If people make the connection, it's great. If they don't, they should just judge the music on its own merits."
The one thing Jade doesn't want anyone thinking is that CAPTIVE represents some kind of "comeback." She and Whey have pretty much gigged and recorded continuously for more than two decades.
"I've been doing what I always do, writing, touring and performing," she insists. "It's not a comeback. We never left. It's just a re-introduction. And this is why it's a Jade Starling record, and not a Pretty Poison record."
CD RELEASE EVENT!
Friday, July 18-11:30 p.m.-(Live DJ 11 p.m.-2 a.m.)
Resorts World Casino, New York City, Club 360, 110-00 Rockaway Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11420, Next to JFK Airport
INFO:1 (888) 888-8801 www.rwnewyork.com
Jade Starling on the Web:
www.facebook.com/likejadestarling
www.youtube.com/user/jadeshouse
www.instagram.com/jadestarling#
www.soundcloud.com/jade-starling
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