Ahead of That’s Showbiz Baby: The Encore, JADE breaks down each new track, reflects on her first year as a solo artist, and opens up about the deeper bond she now shares with LGBTQIA+ fans.
Words Sam Damshenas
Photographer Jeff Hahn at Kintzing
Art Director Jack Rowe
Stylist Douglas Miller
Hair Stylist Patrick Wilson at The Wall Group
Makeup Byron London
Set Design Bryony Edwards
Movement Direction Liam John at Dust Bunnies Agency
Creative Producer Anisa Cleaver
Manicurist Nina K
LED Virtual Production Elsewhere Productions
Photo Assistant Torgeir Rørvik
Styling Assistant Harry Langford
Set Design Assistants Alice Medlock, Amber Perry
Retouching Studio Midwinter
“I do see myself as a mother-in-training,” JADE says — a statement I immediately reject. From dominating pop with Little Mix for close to ten years, to unleashing one of 2025's most innovative (and critically-adored) solo albums and her authentic devotion to the rainbow masses, it’s less mother-in-training and more… mother-in-residence.
Her matriarch status only grows with That’s Showbiz Baby! The Encore, a deluxe edition of her debut packed with eight new tracks — spearheaded by 'Church', a soon-to-be gay pop bible classic thanks to its dual identity as a genre-bending club smash and heartfelt "love letter" to the LGBTQIA+ community.
"Now more than ever, I need to be stepping my ally pussy up and showing up in ways I haven’t done before," JADE tells GAY TIMES. "It’s definitely a mutual love, and it has grown stronger as a solo artist. I just hope that comes across as authentic. I know the photoshoot with GT had the 'mother energy' thing, which I found so funny. If that title is bestowed upon me by my fans, that’s a huge compliment."
A deeply homosexual cover interview follows with JADE, where the pop icon takes us on a candid, chaotic behind-the-scenes tour of The Encore, full of scandalous dream-state confessions, horror-inspired video visions and even more queer love — further solidifying why the “in-training” part is moot. She also outs her dog as a lesbian who likes to peg.
JADE, this deluxe edition is… insane. I don’t think I’ve been this blown away by an extended or deluxe edition since The Fame Monster.
That’s the blueprint, isn’t it? For a deluxe, and a project across the board, to be honest. I was determined that it had to be essentially a brand-new album. I didn’t want it to be, ‘Let’s throw on some new songs or remixes and get it out before Christmas.’ I’m a very ‘more is more’ kind of person. There were already existing songs that, for various reasons, didn’t make it onto the That’s Showbiz Baby album. But then I did a week of sessions where ‘Church’ was born. Going into this deluxe, the single that leads it has to be worthy of being a big single. It has to feel like the start of another campaign, even though it will be short-lived and attached to the That’s Showbiz Baby world. For me, ‘Church’ is the perfect sort of roundup of this era.
