LA-based New Zealander Chelsea Jade salutes friendship on the understated "Superfan"

“Superfan” isn’t about the type of fan that pop artists usually quote as being their driving force, but it is about people who offer their unwavering support. Friends. Whether it’s the reassurance of a speedy reply to a text message or the vocal support of a BFF singalong at a show, Jade marks their importance in her journey with this saccharine ode turning herself into their own biggest cheerleader.

Quoting her own dedication, which was transmitted over New Zealand radio a few days ago, she admits “I know it takes an inordinate amount of perseverance to get to know me, so this song is for my friends who’ve seen it through.” Jade added “I miss you and i love you and when all of this is over, I’m coming to be with you. I’m your superfan.”

That last part is important as right now she’s got no choice but to stay in, and lockdown, in LA. “I'm thinking about my nearest and dearest a lot. Their distance gives them a kind of celebrity to me, where my love turns to adulation in lieu of real contact” she tells me. Written before the global pandemic hit, the long distance nature of a lot of Jade’s relationships manifest in a similar way to those between artists and fans. “Which is to say” Jade adds, “fan culture is so complex and hearty. More than occasionally aggressive. I wondered how I could apply it to the minutiae of my relationships and my own behaviour.”



As for more new music? Her next collection of work is coming, but in Jade’s own words “it’s exact from hasn’t calcified yet.” Having recently supported fellow Angelinos MUNA on their US tour and with a run of postponed dates as Allie X’s special guest, this two-time art school drop-out is putting herself and her art back out there.