Sugary pop music meets exquisite lyrics on Samantha Jade's ''Love.Sick Volume 2''
When Samantha Jade found her love match in husband Pat Handlin, it was a symphonic union made in music Heaven:
"With Pat and i, one of the things we really connected on was music because he loves music as well", Jade told ''ABC News''. But he, actually, is in a different side of music. He is an A&R [artists and repertoire representative]. So, obviously that role means that you go to someone like Pat, and you say to him: ''I want to make a record like this'' and then he puts you in the right rooms with the right writers. And he has great ears so he can hear what the mix needs."
Jade says music is a big part of their love story, and the two sit for hours listening to songs:
"Couples have their little thing that they do, and ours really is music'', Jade said. We listen to old-school music. We listen to different genres. When we watched the ''Elvis'' movie, we got obsessed with that soundtrack. Then we went down a rabbit hole of watching literally every live performance of ''Elvis's that he'd ever done. So, i feel like that part of our love is really great that we can really connect on that level."
When asked about her father-in-law, former ''Sony Music Australia'' boss Denis Handlin, Jade quickly shut down that line of questioning.
''You can be someone else''
The singer / songwriter is promoting her new EP ''Love.Sick Volume 2'', which is the type of satisfying treat made for those of us with a sweet tooth for sugary pop.
But don't be fooled by the candied package. While tracks like ''On And On'' are boppy fun, the tastefully moody song ''New Me'' is lyrically exquisite.
If it wasn't for one cringe-worthy line in ''Set Fire'' about a tired guy running through her mind, the EP's scales would tip in favour of nature's candy, like you get on ''Peachy''. Singing is my favourite thing to do, but i love to write'', Jade says, "And i feel like writing is a very interesting part of the job because you can really explore different things…you can take on a role. You can be someone else, and it's fun."
Career highs and lows
Jade has had a journey of ups and downs:
"I started when i was really young and i started really, really high", Jade says, "When i went to LA, i was so young, i was like 16 and i literally started by being signed to ''Jive Records''. That was my first record deal. And they had Britney [Spears] and Justin [Timberlake] and P!nk and NSYNC, you know, all the people. And i was like: ''Oh my God, this is huge. I'm from Lockridge in Perth.''
Even when she's been on a roll, it's been a rollercoaster:
"Even on ''The X Factor Australia'', I was in the bottom two, three times."
She went on to win the competition:
"I really am a believer in 'things are written' and things are as they're going to be, and you just have to ride the waves and you just have to try if you can", she said, "And not that I don't have my bad days. I do. I have days all the time where I'm like: ''I should just quit. No-one cares. But i do try very hard to live by the kind of idea of, you know, you go through stuff. If there's something you can take from it, that must be what that was for."
Late mother would have loved ''Dancing With The Stars Australia'' appearance
There are some things, though, that are just unfair and unfathomable.
Jade was this week the runner-up in ''Dancing With The Stars Australia'' and the one thing she would have loved to do was call her mother, who died of cancer in 2014:
"Of course, you learn to go on with life. You have to, there's no choice", she said, "But there's just moments, even being on ''Dancing With The Stars Australia'', there's been that moment of being like my mum would have just loved this. And how great would it have been to hear from her after the shows and have her come and see it, you know? We were so close. I mean, she's my mum. She's the person that brought you into the world. She's the person that i would call when anything went wrong, when everything went right, she's my first phone call."
Jade's Indian heritage a source of pride
Jade's mother was born in Scotland. Her father has Indian heritage:
"My culture is very important to me", she said, "I grew up with more of my indian family because my scottish family mostly is still in Scotland. My mum actually grew up in Africa, so she went from Scotland to Africa, then to Australia. So, my indian family is who i grew up with, so i literally grew up on curry and rice and with all my indian family with their Indian accents, and i'm very, very, very proud of my culture."
She grew up singing Bollywood songs around the house:
"My aunties, oh, my God. When i'd go get babysat by my nana, that's all we were watching, Bollywood films, and then sometimes The Bill."
Getting the stamp of approval from Kylie Minogue
It's been 10 years since Jade starred as Kylie Minogue in ''Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story Of INXS.''
She said the experience was "beyond nerve-wracking":
"I was like: ''Wait, i'm going to play Kylie? And she might watch it? Like what?''. That freaked me out. I literally locked myself away and i watched every interview [with Minogue] and watched everything because her mannerisms are so iconic…i wanted to do a good job. I wanted to do it justice."
And according to Minogue, she rose to the occasion:
"She said it was good, thank God", Jade said, "Because i was like: ''Oh my God, if she says: ''Yeah, it didn't feel like it was like me at all'', i'd be like: ''Oh, my God, i can't sleep. She was really sweet about it. She was like: ''I thought you did a great job. I was so happy that you played the role''. So, I was very grateful for that feedback."
Jade vocal about mental health
While playing Minogue may have caused Jade some anxiety, it is not something she has not dealt with before.
She is a vocal advocate for prioritising mental health, having suffered crippling anxiety:
"To be honest, when it first happened, i didn't speak about it", she said, "Like you keep it kind of happy. I'm a singer, my music's pop and it's up[beat], and then i was like: ''Hang on''. "The only thing that made me feel better during that time was knowing that pretty much everyone has dealt with it. There are so many people you talk to. And i was like, i need to share that i'm going through this. If it can help one or two people, then that's good enough for me."
''Love.Sick Volume 2'' by Samantha Jade is out now.
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