FEATURE: Spotlight: Jade Novah

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Jade Novah

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I would love to see and read…

more interviews with the remarkable Jade Novah. A sensational songwriter-singer from Ohio, she may not be known to some people. That is why I want to put the spotlight on her. This feature is designed to highlight rising talent and artists established that may not be in everyone’s consciousness. In the case of Jade Novah, she is definitely established, and yet I think her best days are ahead of her. A wonderous musical force with a voice like no other, she is someone that I want people to know more about. Her recent E.P.,  Moon In Pisces, was released back in August. It is a sensational work! I will finish off with an interview related to that and based around it. There was a lot of anticipation around that E.P. I wonder what Novah has in store for 2023. Seeing her in the U.K. would be a real treat! I know she has some U.S. dates at the moment. There will definitely be a third studio album at some point. Her remarkable 2018 debut, All Blue, was followed by 2020’s Stages. The latter album was released at a time when there was change in the world. The pandemic meant it was not possible to tour widely, and it must have been an odd time. It is a staggering album from an artist who keeps growing stronger. I will come to a 2020 with her. First, and if you do not know about Jade Novah, AllMusic have some biography about the truly sensational and captivating artist:

“Versatile contemporary R&B singer and songwriter Lindsay Fields combines her love of both music and acting under the alias Jade Novah. After working as a backup singer and a songwriter-for-hire, she made her recording debut as Novah with the Shades of Jade mixtape in 2012. She is also known for her musical sketch comedy videos and her fully produced cover videos, including a version of Rihanna's "Diamonds" that got over ten million views on social media. Novah's first official album, All Blue, saw release in 2018. Her 2022 EP Moon in Pieces included a duet with Kenyon Dixon.

Born Lindsay Fields in Cleveland, Ohio, Novah was influenced by her father's love of rock music and her mother's affection for musical theater. She sang in church from a young age, eventually moving on to female vocal groups. After a random meeting, Missy Elliott flew her to Miami to sing backup on her 2003 album This Is Not a Test! Later, Fields earned a spot as a backing singer on tour for the Tyler Perry show Madea's Big Happy Family. Deciding to focus on songwriting, she began attending writing camps while networking as a songwriter in New York and L.A. She eventually landed a publishing deal, and wrote songs for the likes of Mya, Melanie Fiona, and Christina Milian as part of the writing group the PenUp Dolls.

Fields returned to singing in 2012, and adopted the pseudonym Jade Novah before releasing the Shades of Jade mixtape later that year. In the meantime, she garnered attention for both a sketch parody of Beyoncé and several cover videos, culminating in millions of online views for her versions of the Rihanna hits "Stay" and "Diamonds" in 2013.

Over the next few years, Fields continued to find work as a songwriter and touring vocalist (Rihanna, Lady Gaga), all the while continuing to work on her own music. More videos appeared on her video channel, including a parody ad for a Christmas album that saw her impersonating Beyoncé, Erykah Badu, Shakira, and others. Fields and her husband, singer/musician Devin Johnson, teamed up on a separate series of covers in 2017 that spanned such well-known artists as Kendrick Lamar, Whitney Houston, and Ed Sheeran. Jade Novah's official debut album, All Blue, followed in mid-2018 on Let There Be Art/Empire. That year, she appeared as a vocal coach on the Fox series The Four: Battle for Stardom, and in 2019, she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding New Artist.

Novah's second full-length, Stages, appeared on Let There Be Art in 2020. It featured collaborations with Eric Bellinger and Jared Brady. She returned in 2022 with an EP titled Moon in Pieces. The six-track set included the song "Rollercoaster" featuring Kenyon Dixon”.

Grammy chatted with Jade Novah back in 2020. Whilst All Blue was a solid and original debut, there was something even more amazing about 2020’s Stages! It is an album that took her to an even wider audience. I have been playing the album a lot the past couple of weeks, in addition to her new E.P. Jade Novah is one of the best artists out there without a shadow of a doubt:

“Following the release of her debut offering All Blue, which focused on the multi-faceted artist grounding herself in positivity and elevation, Novah’s life as a singer/songwriter, comedian and social influencer took a complete turn. Recognized by both fans and critics alike, All Blue is one of the most lyrically and vocally focused R&B debuts in recent memory. The project not only helped launch Novah into ventures as a voice actor work and a hosting gig at an Atlanta-based morning radio show, but it also earned her a nomination for the Outstanding New Artist NAACP Image Award last year.

Where All Blue did well to create the colorful foundations of Novah's sound, her sophomore Stages follows in even more evolved fashion. Though, as she notes, the album is not necessarily a sonic departure from her previous release, Stages brings new vigor and intensity to the very aspects of Novah's musical charisma and allegiance to touchstone R&B and hip-hop.

For Novah, Stages represents vulnerability on a completely new level. The project is anchored in genuine emotion that shines through songs written and performed with relatability and authenticity. Inspired by her own life's journey, each song takes on a character and narrative of its own to create an intimate mosaic of personal growth and creative progression.

Songs like lead single "Somebody Son" and "Lay It Down" tout soul and airiness against Novah's silky vocals, while others like "Lifestyle" see Jade opting for heavier hip-hop sensibility, floating over 808s and trap-leaning beats with relative ease.

On the album's opener "Stages," Novah sings of past issues and experiences: "I had food stamps in my Louis Vuitton, felt like a star but couldn’t keep the lights on." Letting listeners into her world may not always be easy, but it’s clear that Novah has committed to being open and honest in her songs for the sake of connecting.

Following the album’s release, the Recording Academy caught up with Novah to discuss the inspirations behind her project, the roadblocks of being an independent artist and how being a "Jane of all trades" has helped her evolve musically.

Can you talk a little bit about your new album Stages? How does it compare to your debut All Blue in its nature and what kind of themes were you trying to present with it?

Stages is my second album, my second full project. I don't want to say it's a departure from my last project. My last project was All Blue, and this project Stages I think is just unique in that each song has its own original character. Literally its own persona, its own vibe and on the record, I’m going through all these stages that I've been through as a woman, as a single mother at one point to now being a wife, just that journey from the beginning to this point in my life. I feel like every song has something that everyone can relate to, everyone who’s finding or going through their own stage with this album. I’m pretty excited about it.

You had a pretty big year in 2019 following the release of All Blue, including a nomination for Outstanding New Artist at the NAACP Image Awards. How did all of that feel and where did it put your headspace going into the recording of Stages?

As far as last year, it was definitely a year of transition. In addition to working on the project, I was voicing all these characters for a cartoon called "Sugar & Toys!" and I was hosting a morning show in Atlanta during the day. As you mentioned, some of the awards and accolades that happened in the midst of all those transitional things was just confirmation. You know, it’s one thing to be respected amongst yourself and your peers, but it’s another thing to reach that level of respect in the industry, to even be nominated. Especially, considering the independent artist part. The journey has been that much more difficult kind of doing things on your own and realizing all of the feelings and roadblocks that you have to deal with when you don’t have a machine behind you, so that was sort of a payoff for anyone that was a naysayer or even taking more of the road less traveled to maintain my creative control, my musical integrity and my masters, just thinking of the long run.

Those things starting to happen last year helped inspire this new project because in those roadblocks I realized, okay, there’s more of a story to be told here. I feel like I've lived a million different lives, between the morning show, the cartoon, being a mom, all these hats that I’ve had to wear. I thought that it was important to tell a story as a woman that look, you can do it all. I remember there was a point when I was doing a lot of comedy and then also trying to create music for my first project and be taken seriously for both. In the beginning of my career, people would be like just pick one. "What do you do?" But I feel like in 2020 with social media we’re in such a beautiful space to be able to do multiple things. Stages is not only a musical project for me, but it’s also storytelling, which I love to do, and showcasing all these different factors of myself to say we really can do it all, don’t box me in.

Everything has its own sound too which is super unique because the common thread in the project is really just the fact that it's telling my stories. Sonically it's everything from hip-hop to '90s R&B. It’s really kind of a nod to that. Being in that space of feeling like I can do whatever I want to do, unapologetically.

One thing I noticed about Stages in listening is that it’s lyrically very personal. Why is sharing that way important to you as an artist and how are you able to open up so much through your songwriting?

Well, I think authenticity is really the only way to connect. If you're making art, why wouldn’t you make art that's honest and genuine? I’ve always been an open book and I think that helps to strengthen the bond with my supporters or the people who are connecting with my music. For me to be vulnerable, it allows them to deal with their emotions or reflect on the things that they’ve been through so that when we do it live, it’s that much more impactful.

The last tour that we did for All Blue, it was hearing other people’s stories and them coming up to me and saying "Time" touched me and it made me feel. I'm not 25 anymore either but I still got time. Putting yourself out there makes it comfortable for everybody else to do the same and I think the more vulnerable we all are, the more we can realize that we’re not that different and we're all connected. That's really the most powerful thing I think about being an artist and being a musician, in particular, is being able to tell stories that everyone can really relate to and all just being on the same wavelength.

What were some of your influences and inspirations? You mentioned that the album has a lot of different sonic range, so who were you listening to at the time of recording?

I love 90’s R&B! I feel like everyone in my generation does, but I really really have an appreciation for it. Just because there was integrity with vocals that I don’t know is still as present today. I grew up loving Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey—artists who really understood the importance of vocal excellence.

As far as hip-hop, Left Eye and Missy Elliott. Female MCs who weren't afraid to take risks and who didn't necessarily always lean towards hypersexuality. Which, again, is a beautiful thing and I do touch on it in this album as well, but I could only listen to certain artists when I was younger so I naturally gravitated to the more creative and resourceful hip-hop artists. And also Lil' Kim! I know she got down and dirty but no one was out-rhyming her.

What inspired me to tell those specific stories, I’ve been journaling since I was a little kid. Literally, since I was about eight years old, I have stacks of journals from eight years old all the way until now. I was going through this transitional space in my life and figuring out what are the things that I want to focus on moving forward in my career? Doing a lot of self-reflecting and looking back at old journal entries, looking at the things that I wanted and seeing the things that finally manifested. That realization of "Woah, there was a journey from point A to point B that I don’t think I really highlighted."

All Blue was all about positivity and elevation, which is a beautiful thing but I think that it’s not realistic to promote only that one sort of story since in order to get there, you have to go through some sh*t. Even sometimes when you’re in a space of positivity you backslide or sometimes you have a bad day. Last year was the most up and down year for me that I had ever felt. Especially being an artist on the independent level because for example, I went from my tour and selling out eleven cities, but I was still doing the morning show to make ends meet. That realistic portrayal of what it really means to be an artist inspired this project.

Do you think doing so many things—the morning show, background singing, acting, voiceovers, building and maintaining a social media audience—has helped you evolve in your music?

Yeah, it has. Especially the morning show, because I got to interview my peers and artists that I look up to. Everyone from Lil Nas X to storytellers like Issa Rae, getting a chance to hear their stories. Nick Cannon specifically was one of the most amazing interviews that I did because he is someone that has mastered the art of literally doing it all. He’ll go from hosting shows to putting out a rap song to doing a woke-ass podcast to dominating social media. That definitely inspired me, hearing everyone’s stories and realizing, wow, we have a lot in common. I think that the average person who doesn’t necessarily create also has those experiences too. But yes, doing all of those things has definitely helped.

So what’s next for Jade Novah?

We’re getting ready to take it on the road, the Stages tour. It starts March 20 and we’re doing 17 cities. I’m doing it with my husband Devin Johnson, who also executively produced the album. He's Lizzo’s musical director and he's done so many amazing things. He’s also my music director so I’m really excited to bring that story to life on the stage”.

I am going to round things up soon. Rated R&B talked with Jade Novah earlier this year about the excellent Moon in Pisces E.P. If you have not heard the E.P., then I would very much urge people to hear it now. There is something about the songs and Novah’s vocals that ensure every moment stays with you. Such a heartfelt and stunning singer. I know she has done some acting but, honestly, I think that she would be a very natural actor who could star in a wide range of fascinating projects. Just a bit of a side-note there!

“Jade Novah is many things — a singer, songwriter, a Beyoncé impersonator, but she is decidedly a woman madly in love with her man. The multifaceted entertainer made it hard to deny at Amos’ Southend in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of her Moon in Pisces Tour.

Novah embarked on a national tour with her husband Devin Johnson as her sidekick, playing drums and keys. He also served as her muse for most of the setlist, relentlessly bouncing between tempos and moods that chronicled aspects of their relationship and where she’s at right now.

The songs on Moon in Pisces, her most recent EP, showcase their durable bond. “It’s a full musical journey where we navigate our ups and downs in love while healing and self-reflecting,” Novah said in a press statement.

Featured songs on Moon in Pisces include the lead single “I Just Wanna Know” and the current focus track “Trip.” She just released a music video for the latter, which Rafael Gutierrez directed.

Although she just released Moon in Pisces, Novah is already in album mode for the follow-up to 2020’s Stages. “It’s just the beginning,” she tells Rated R&B.

Following Novah’s extraordinary hour-long set and special performances by Dondria and Jared Brady, she invited Rated R&B to her green room for wine and conversation. She reflected on touring the new EP with her husband, collaborating with Kenyon Dixon and more. Check out Rated R&B’s interview with Jade Novah below.

You wrote and recorded Moon in Pisces with your husband, Devin Johnson, and toured it with him. What’s the energy been like performing the songs you created together?

The live show is such a reflective experience. It’s a healing experience for both of us because when we created the concept for the project and the tour, we both relived a lot of moments. I was telling a story [on stage], some of it was about us, but some was about our past relationships. So telling those stories and talking to each other about those things, we were able to get this stronger bond and this stronger appreciation for the connection that we have. Living it every day, performing it, and just telling this story through art together has been some sort of transformation that has gotten us even deeper in our love in our relationship just from doing all these things together. It’s been beautiful.

You’ve been out on the road for most of the summer. How does performing on tour affect what to do next in your music?

For this tour specifically, it was the first time we really used all of my gifts of storytelling, comedy, and music because the variety show is ultimately what I’m trying to create. Seeing the reactions and energy from people is just affirming.

You’ve mastered diva impersonations of Beyoncé, Toni Braxton, and Cardi B, among others. What’s another diva impersonation that you’d like to include in the future?

I’ve been working on Doja Cat (laughs). I’m going to work that one out. I’d love to incorporate Megan Thee Stallion. Hopefully, those ladies come on soon.

FOR years to come.

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Sam Liddicott