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Samantha Jade

Date with Kate

Date with Kate: Samantha Jade

22nd April, 2018

Catching up with Samantha Jade at Sydney’s China Doll

From winning The X-Factor in 2012 to a stint on Home and Away, playing Kylie Minogue in the television mini-series INXS: Never Tear Us Apart and touring with One Direction, Samantha Jade certainly knows how to excel in multiple artistic endeavours. Having already released two albums, Samantha Jade and Nine, the singer, songwriter and actress’s third record titled Best of My Love has just dropped. An album filled with disco anthems, Samantha Jade says it’s a “tribute to amazing, powerful women who in the disco era became really comfortable with their sexuality”. Here she chats to me about writing songs, dealing with crazy rumours and the strangest thing she’s ever read about herself.

What are you up to at the moment?

It’s funny with music because you make the record and you’re behind the scenes completely [in the]. studio and you’re writing. You don’t have to think about anything because you’re just in this emotional place. So now I’m in that zone of promoting and publicity and performing and actually learning the words properly, learning how to sing it, and learning choreography. So it’s really fun.

Tell me about your new album.

It’s my third album, which is pretty cool to say that I made it to three. The first one obviously was X-Factor, and it was a bit of a postcard from the show. And then the second one I wrote every song, and it was really deep and about my mum [who passed away]. And then this one now is fun. It’s all disco classics that we’ve remade. It’s a bit of a tribute to amazing, powerful women who in the disco era, became really comfortable with their sexuality and being a solo female artist.

So the album’s called Best of My Love. Where did the name come from?

So basically, Best of My Love is that song, “Got the best of my love,” which I’ve always loved. You see it in so many movies and a lot of people have remade it. There are so many disco love songs so you have to pick and choose and that one was my favourite. And to me, it’s the sentiment of the record. You know, giving you the best of my love and being happy.

What a fun album! So what’s a typical day for you?

Lately it’s been insane. We are finishing up all the things with the record, all the ads that we’ve done for TV, and we’re making music videos and obviously all the promo going along with it. A typical day is probably flying in or flying out, and then going straight to rehearsals…along with other side projects that we have going on.

What is the best part about what you do?

I think the travelling is amazing. I get to see the world, which is so great. It’s never for a long time…but I try and extend a little so I can see a bit [of the place I’m visiting]. And meeting great people. Even the ladies I’ve just been working with, Kate Ceberano and the Veronicas and Dami [Im] and Amy Shark and so many great people that I get to talk to about music.

What’s the worst part about what you have to do?

It’s very rare to have time off. I think the weird hours too. If you are writing a song you can be there for like three days and haven’t gotten it yet, so you stay there trying to get it. Especially with choreography, that is hours and hours of time. My family are in Perth, so it’s hard not seeing them.

Do you get a feeling when you know you’ve got the song right?

Yes, there’s a feeling. When we wrote “Firestarter,” which is one of my songs from ages ago, we wrote it, and we knew. And we wrote that in like an hour so it was a pretty fast one which is really rare.

Really? That is amazing. What is the process when you’re writing a song?

I always try to write from personal experience, so it depends what you are doing through at the time. If you are really in love and everything’s going great, you are going to write really happy music. If you are going through break-up, it’s going to be really sad. But, at the same time, it depends on the track, because chords make you feel different things. Minor chords make you feel sad and moody and then major chords make you feel happy, and so, it’s very dependent on the track.

If you had never gone down this career path, what would you be doing?

I love doing make up, so I have a make-up range and I would probably do something [with makeup]. But then I love children, so I would probably love to teach music or singing, maybe have my own little singing school.

Seeing as you have a love of makeup, what are your top beauty products that we need to know about?

Well, I think it’s really important to have a good moisturiser. I think that is something people forget.

Our delicious meal

What do you use?

It’s a French moisturiser [I found] when I was in Paris and I was obsessed with it. It’s Embryolisse and they’ve got a mattifying one and just a moisturising one. On the T-zone I use the mattifying one. It’s never oily and your makeup goes on beautifully over it.

And I have actually found this amazing thing by a brand called The Ordinary. It is cheap, it is easy to get, it is called Caffeine Solution and I dab it under my eyes.

What is your number one fashion tip?

My mum gave me this advice and she used to say that Coco Chanel said, “Always take one thing off before you leave the house”. And I agree…I love simplicity.

Then what would be your wardrobe essentials?

A good black blazer. That’s my uniform for myself every day, like I can wear a T-shirt, with a blazer and blue jeans. But a good blazer that fits on the arms, I think. Those big baggy ones I am not into. And a really good pair of jeans. A good pair of high waisted jeans. Never ever go with straight.

Where is your number one holiday destination?

Well it’s changed, ’cause I just did the whole Europe thing last year and I went to Santorini, and I loved it. I always suggest to stay at Sand de le Hierarch. It is known as crazy. Also I just love the Amalfi Coast. It is so beautiful.

Do you enjoy life in the spotlight?

I do and I don’t. I mean, it’s always hard to read things about yourself that aren’t true and not you have to defend yourself, but at the same time, I have learned to deal with that. If my dad is happy with me, and my brothers, and my important people then I’m doing OK.

What’s the funniest thing you have ever read about yourself?

Oh gosh, I read something about hair from a fan that I keep. That was funny, and then that I was dating Niall from One Direction, for like a year, on and off.

Always great chatting to this lovely lady

How did they get that?

Well, only ’cause I knew him, but I knew him because we did a tour together, and his cousin actually lives in Melbourne, who I know. He’s so young, he’s like my brother’s age, and I was no, god no!

You’ve been with your partner [music exec Pat Handlin] for awhile. How is it having a relationship when you’re in the spotlight?

I’m lucky, ’cause he totally gets it, and he’s totally supportive, so he’s just a dream. But it is hard, because it’s hard to see each other. I mean, he’s always working too, so we have to have date nights.

What’s the secret, do you think?

Making time, and going, “OK, we’re going to hang out now and not have our phones”. So at dinner but we put our phones away.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

I hope I have a baby. I love kids. Love them. And my best friend, Julesy, she has two babies who I am obsessed with. I hope I still work in music, because these days it’s really a big accomplishment to still be in the music industry, so I hope that I’m still here.

Do you have a career highlight?

Winning an ARIA was a big one to be standing up there with a reward, that is voted by your peers. Probably that, and I think Nine coming out, ’cause I wrote that album for my mum, and I think that she would have, I never got to play it to her, but I did play her a lovely song while she was in hospital. So that coming out, knowing that she liked some of it.

Bite Size

We went to: China Doll

We drank: Cocktails – “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Mandarin & Kaffir Lime Spritz”

We ate: Cured Hiramasa Kingfish with Avocado & Jicama; Wontons – Pork Prawn & Shiitake with Black Vinegar & Soy; Corn & Zucchini Cakes with Coriander Chilli Sambal; Spicy Sour Assam Fish Curry with Pineapple & Tomato

SAMANTHA JADE WORE a Elliatt suit with a Tuchuzy Chosen top, Tony Bianco heels and Christie Nicolaides earrings

I WORE a Seed Top and Skirt

Photography & Videography: Ashleigh Larden

On the 9th of May, Head Chef Frank Shek at China Doll will head to restaurant China Lane and join Kristian Vale (Head Chef) to cook up an incredible banquet style dinner. Book here: http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/china-doll-china-lane-celebrate-20-years/103346 

 

 

Date with Kate

Date with Kate: Samantha Jade

24th January, 2016

My date with Samantha Jade at Sokyo, The Star.

Samantha Jade was the first female to win the Australian series of The X Factor Australia in 2012. She subsequently signed with Sony Music and released her winner’s single “What You’ve Done to Me” which reached number one on the ARIA Singles Charts. Jade has had a series of hits since and she released her second studio album, Nine, in November last year. Jade also starred as Kylie Minogue in the mini-series, INXS: Never Tear Us Apart in 2014 and this year, Jade has joined the cast of the long-running soap opera Home and Away. I chatted to the 28-year-old about her career, her plans to make it in the UK and how the death of her mother, Jacqueline Gibbs, impacted her music.

What are you up to, at the moment?

I am preparing for a bit of a big year. [My] deluxe record will be out this year… [I’m] a guest role in Home and Away, which is pretty exciting…  It was so fun to film — it was so different than the Kylie, INXS role. It’s so different from the real me so it was a really creative moment.

Do you enjoy acting?

I love it… A lot of people say acting and music are similar. It’s not! It’s actually really different. Music obviously, is self-expression because if you’re a writer and you’re writing about your experiences. With acting, you’re playing a character, you’re playing someone who is not you, who shouldn’t think like you, who hasn’t been through what you’ve been through — you’ve got to create a whole world for them. It’s really different and I really enjoy that side of it because it just is so creative.

How do you measure the success of an album?

I think that that’s something that comes with age, realising what success really is and I think that a few years ago if you would have asked me that I would have said, “Oh Top 10. It has to be Top 5 or it’s not good enough.” For me now, after everything I went through last two years with my mum [passing away]… success is such a different thing to me now and happiness has become my number one and just my whole idea of life has completely changed. So for me, getting an album out, was a really big deal and for people to actually listen to it and actually getting those messages that I wanted to write about across — that’s success to me. It has really changed for me, I just am happy it’s out and that my fans are happy with it … There’s a song called Nine on there about my mum and a lot of people have written and said, “That’s gotten me through… I lost my Grandfather. I lost my uncle or I lost my Dad” it’s such a positive spin on such a sad moment. It has really helped me and that’s success.

Your new album draws inspiration from dark moments in your life, including the death of your mother; in what way did the passing of your mother impact your music?

Yes [it impacted my album hugely] I took a lot of 2014 off because she got sick that January. Australia Day we found out she had cancer, which was the hardest day… I basically relocated back to Perth and I still had to work but I just would fly over and fly straight back. It was a full six months and it took a lot out of us. So once everything happened and she passed, we went on a holiday. I came back and started to rewrite the album because I felt like everything I had written didn’t make sense anymore for me.

How did you manage to get an album out? 

I kind of think that — I don’t have a partner, I don’t have a child. So, my work is my everything right now. So I threw myself into it. My mum said to me when she was sick, “you do not stop working — you’ve worked so hard for this, this is your love. I’m so proud of you,” and I knew for her, I had to keep working as well. My Dad kept reminding me of that. He was like, “You’ve got to do it. You love what you do.”

What do you do in your time off, when you’re not working?

I love to shop, I love to go to the movies, and I love to go to the beach. And I’m the ambassador for “Star Summer Hits” at The Star Sydney. It’s really exciting because I’m a Perth girl and Sunday sessions are huge thing in Perth and it’s really hard to find that out here in Sydney. So, Thursday through to Sunday on the Sky Terrace they’ve got a beautiful bar in the middle and there’s this really cool little area with grass and it’s just a nice way to let your hair down through summer and a very nice little Sunday session with champagne, brunch. It’s just lovely.

What are your plans for 2016?

I would love to go to the U.K. That’s a really big thing for me. I would love to go there and just feel it out [career wise] and see how it would go. So, that’s my goal this year. And the deluxe record and maybe a tour and just to stay in music.

What is the biggest impact winning X-Factor has had on your life?

My job is now music. I get to wake up every day and do what I love. That’s incredible to say, not many people can do that and say that. But I think the ability to inspire people is a really incredible feeling that I’ve only realised how powerful that is in the last year, because of my album and because of what I went through and when I went through what I went through with my mum and there’s so many people that go through that, and having a little bit of a profile — you are lucky because you can inspire people, I’m really like to have the ability to do that.

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

I hopefully am married by then, and having a child because having a baby and being married is as much of a dream for me as music is… So, I’d love that and I’d love to still be in music.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

I always say Ed Sheeran because I think he is one of the best songwriters of our generation… There’s no facade with him.

WE WENT TO Sokyo, The Star, Pyrmont.

WE ATE a fruit platter and a selection of pastries.

WE DRANK coffee and juice.

I WORE Rebecca Vallance  Subtropical High Neck Midi Dress

Photography by Chris Pearce.

Fashion

An Evening with Camilla and Marc PFF

16th September, 2013

Camilla and Marc showcased their 2013 Resort Collection, Suprematist, on the fifth Day of The Perth Fashion Festival (PFF). The event took place at the WA Museum’s Hackett Hall where models paraded the collection between tables as guests enjoyed a three-course meal. VIP’s included singer Samantha Jade, former cricketer Adam Gilchrist, Sara Leonardi-McGrath and her husband, former cricketer Glenn McGrath who was a special guest at the event which helped raise awareness and funds for The McGrath Foundation, a breast cancer charity founded by his late wife Jane McGrath.

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Photography: Adam Nalapraya

Fashion, Social

PFF 15th Anniversary Celebrations

12th September, 2013

To top off the PFF 15th Anniversary Show, the VIP Peroni Aperitivo Bar was revealed to the guests post-show. The crowd were lead outside to find a huge Peroni pop-up bar. Beer, champagne and canapés were served as models walked the room and continued to show off the stunning WA designs.

Chatting to Samantha Harris.

Chatting to model Samantha Harris.

Scherri-Lee Biggs

Scherri-Lee Biggs

Samantha Jade

Samantha Jade

Perth Fashion Festival 2013 Perth Fashion Festival 2013 Perth Fashion Festival 2013 Perth Fashion Festival 2013 Perth Fashion Festival 2013 Perth Fashion Festival 2013 Perth Fashion Festival 2013 Perth Fashion Festival 2013

Photography: Adam Nalapraya

Date with Kate

DATE WITH KATE: SAMANTHA JADE

30th June, 2013
Breakfast with Samantha Jade.

Breakfast with Samantha Jade.

Singer- songwriter Samantha Jade won The X Factor last year and has just released Firestarter, the follow up single to her No. 1 hit ‘What Youv’e Done To Me’. I chatted with the 26-year-old about fame, coping with criticism and being afraid of the dark.

What is the biggest lifestyle change since you won The X Factor?

When you’re on a TV show, people feel like they know you. They come up to me and say, “Hi Samantha, how is your dad?” It’s really nice, because people really care.

With social media these days, it must be strange the public has direct contact with you. how do you cope with that?

I lived in LA for eight years and people are very harsh and you have to build a thick skin. I think if you are in a bad place, it affects you in a bad way, so when I started on The X Factor I had lost all my confidence. I had been recording so many demos and not getting anywhere, so I didn’t know who I was as an artist. So when I won The X Factor, everything changed and I’m back to being me. I’m used to the criticism.

What sort of criticism would you get?

I still read things like “she only won because she knows Guy [Sebastian]” and “She only made it because she knew everything about the industry”. People don’t know that Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera were all signed and dropped before they made it. Pretty much everybody (in the industry) has been through he same thing but I just chose a TV show for my last chance so people could follow the journey with me.

Did you truly believe it was your last chance?

Yes. I had lived in the States for a long time, working really hard and I was not getting anywhere. I came to the point where I hated it. I couldn’t even listen to the radio; I’d turn it down in the car because music was a dark place for me.

Your family must be so supportive of your career.

Yes, my whole family moved over to LA when I was 16 to support my career. When I gave up, they didn’t. They just believe in me, more than I believe in me. They were the ones who made me audition for The X Factor.

Samantha Jade

After your success of What You’ve Done to Me, do you feel the pressure to have another hit single?

Yes! It’s so scary because I hope it does really well and it’s my dream for it to go No. 1, but you never know. Hopefully people can feel that excitement that I had when I wrote it.

Do you still get stage fright?

Yes, I have stress rash every time I go on stage!

Are you involved in the next series of The X Factor?

Yes. I can’t say how I’m involved, but yes.

Are you still in contact with the judges?

Guy and I still keep in contact because I knew him before the show, and Jules, his wife, is one of my closet friends and she is my stylist now – she just styled my music video.

Do you think the next season will be as successful without former judge Scary Spice?

Yes. Dannii Minogue is such a big star, so I think she is going to bring a lot to the table.

Will you try your luck in the US again?

I don’t think I would ever live there again. My dream would be to have success in London, and I just want to be big in my home country.

What do you do for fun?

I’m a shopaholic. I also love coffee, I really like Pablo’s Vice coffee shop in Surry Hills, it’s the best coffee I’ve ever had.

What is something no one would know about you?

I’m scared of the dark. I can’t sleep with the lights off; I have to have the TV on or some type of light on.

BITE SIZE

WE WENT TO Room 10, Potts Point.

WE ATE Toasted sourdough with avocado and feta, soft boiled egg with pickled fennel salad; Toasted walnut and fig loaf with fresh ricotta and fig compote; Burnt fig granola with Greek style yoghurt, stewed rhubarb, fresh fruit, breakfast dukkah & stringy bark honey.

WE DRANK A cappuccino and a latte.

I WORE A Camilla and Marc dress.

SAMANTHA WORE Dr Denim Jeans, ASOS Jacket and a George top.

Room 10 Room 10 Room 10

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