Live: Sadie Jean Shares Performance and New Album Announcement
Sadie Jean burst onto the scene in late 2021 with her song “WYD Now?” going viral on TikTok. With lyrical depth and emotional resonance, people gravitated toward the singer-songwriter. Her ability to weave compelling stories with her silky voice strikes a chord with her audience. So much so that with just four songs released, Sadie Jean has amassed over 5.5 million Spotify listeners.
This Tuesday, an eager crowd awaited Sadie Jean as she opened for Johnny Orlando on The Ride tour. Yells of “I love you, Sadie” echoed across the venue as she graced the stage. Settling herself in with her acoustic guitar, Sadie Jean kicked off the night with “Locksmith.”
In "Locksmith," Sadie Jean delicately narrates the story of a broken relationship, where she still holds feelings for her ex. “If in ten years time, I’m still on your mind/Would you call and say you want this?/No matter where we are, you still have my heart/‘Cause I locked it, and I promise/You’re the locksmith,” Sadie sings in the chorus. "Locksmith" becomes almost anthemic with its plaintive vocals intertwining hope with the end of a relationship.
“Has anyone here gone through a breakup recently?” Sadie asked, receiving many responses, including the girl next to me who had a four-year relationship end. Addressing this shared sentiment, Sadie performed her breakup anthem, "Just Because." “Just because I miss you doesn’t mean I want you back/And just because I almost called don’t mean I wish I had,” Sadie reflects on heartache and missing someone. With so many people going through breakups, Sadie had the venue singing along with her in solidarity.
Moving to her red piano in the middle of the stage, Sadie gave a brief storytime about how she wrote a song and had her ex cheat on her two days later. The piano ballad highlights Sadie's gorgeous voice and lyrics. True to the song’s title, the venue lit up with everybody putting their phones up. Despite not being released yet, it was clear that this song is set to be a favorite by fans' reactions.
Breaking from her originals with a cover, Sadie Jean reimagined Coldplay’s “Yellow,” blending it with B.o.B’s “Airplanes” and putting her own spin on it. The two iconic songs had everyone singing along (even the parents.)
Sadie then shared, “So I recently turned 21. And it’s been fun, but it’s made me very nostalgic and I wrote a song about it.” Performing her latest release, “16,” Sadie masterfully encapsulates the bittersweet nostalgia of her teenage years. Revisiting old places in her song, Sadie notes that the walls look different even though “Nothin's new, just days and distance.” Growing older makes you look back and miss your younger days, knowing you never get them back. “Sixteen, bittersweet,/oh, so innocent/I guess, I guess I'm missin' it.”
Returning to the song that started it all, Sadie continued the night with her breakout single, “WYD?.” A journey of love and heartbreak, "WYD Now?" forces listeners to reflect on how they're holding onto dreams and memories of that person. The song acts as a visceral reminder that moving on doesn't have to mean letting go. Simultaneously, Sadie challenges us by asking, "What are you doing now?"
As she concluded her performance, Sadie Jean revealed that her debut album, "Simple Like 17," will be arriving soon, much to the delight of her fans. To cap off the night, she treated the audience to the title track from the upcoming album, leaving no doubt that her debut album is not one to miss!