Spotlight: Why Bianca Jade Needs To Be on Your Radar and Summer Playlist
Learn more about the up-and-coming R&B musician and her latest EP, 'Flower By The Sundial,' in this exclusive interview.
One of the best things about covering music is constantly discovering new artists and songs. Two summers ago, I learned about Bianca Jade when she randomly followed me on Instagram, which I’m now so grateful she did. I checked her page out and was blown away by her soulful voice, so obviously, I followed back and since then, we’ve formed an online friendship.
As a journalist, I always get talent from all over following me on social media, and sending me pitches via email or DMs. Unfortunately, sometimes they get lost in the abyss, but I got lucky when I connected with Bianca Jade. In August 2022, she DM’d me a pitch about the release of her song “Pressure” — the first song of hers I ever listened to. At the time, I was a news editor at Hypebae and frequently covered music for the site, such as monthly roundups where I included some of the best music releases of the month.
I instantly became a fan of Bianca Jade, a Miami native with Cuban and Jamaican roots. At first listen, her powerful singing voice reminded me of Christina Aguilera and JoJo. However, she has more of an R&B feel with hints of pop in her music, which I love. It’s fun to listen to, it’s relatable and there’s a song for every mood.
Fast forward to almost two years later, and Bianca Jade released her EP Flower By The Sundial on June 25.
There is something special about seeing artists in the early stages of their music careers. Bianca Jade may still be unknown to many, but I get the feeling that thanks to her incredible voice, amazing music and heavenly aesthetics, that won’t be the case for long. Check out my exclusive interview/Q&A with Bianca Jade below.
How did you get started in music?
Bianca Jade: Music has always been a part of my life. I grew up listening to artists like Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys and Sade in the car. I remember my mom giving me an Aretha Franklin CD when I was about nine years old, and I would religiously play “Respect” and “Chain of Fools” on repeat and just try to mimic the power in Aretha’s voice. From then on, I auditioned for every talent show I could find and taught myself to play piano by ear. I knew I wanted to sing and make music.
What can you tell me about the EP?
Bianca Jade: Flower By The Sundial is the third body of work I've released. She embodies an ethereal, feminine, empowering world filled with flowers and personal growth. I collaborated with lots of amazing creatives for this EP, such as DapYP, Dakota Ryley, Paperwater, Laphelle and Mike Tucci to name a few. I just wrapped up a mini tour for this EP and performed at my final show, which was held at my release party in Miami. It's been such an amazing, wild ride. I'm just grateful and soaking in all of these opportunities to do what I love.
How did you come up with the title and theme for Flower By the Sundial?
Bianca Jade: FBTSD (Flower By The Sundial) is a concept that was brought to me by my co-writing partner and executive producer DapYP. Dap brought the title to me and suggested that I should make that the title for my next project. After I gave it some thought, it all made sense. Flower By The Sundial is a representation of my personal growth as a woman; embracing my femininity and allowing myself the grace to grow with time. I’m quite literally the flower growing next to the sundial. Just growing and not worried about how long it takes to get to my “full bloom.” Additionally, I was heavily inspired by my late grandma Barbara, who gave me some nuggets of wisdom before she passed away. In “Barbara’s Interlude I and II,” you’ll hear some pieces of voice memos I had from one of the last conversations we had together.
What’s your favorite song and why?
Bianca Jade: I think my favorite song on the EP is the track title, “Flower By The Sundial.” It's just such a bouncy, fun, upbeat track and I love that I got to stack a million harmonies towards the end of it. I think this song displays my personality well.
Who inspires you musically and lyrically?
Bianca Jade: Musically and lyrically, I would say I'm inspired by all the divas — Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Chaka Khan.
Who’s your dream collaborator?
Bianca Jade: I have a couple: Salaam Remi, Pharrell and Kaytranada.
What do you hope your supporters take away from this project?
Bianca Jade: I hope that my music brings you tons of joy and can transport you to my fairytale flower world where we can flourish together and be unapologetically ourselves.
Stream Flower By The Sundial below.
This interview was edited for clarity.