Gather around all fans of Jae Stephens, or citizens of Auda City, because your president-slash-pop princess has arrived.
It’s been a showstopping year for Jae Stephens, from her first festival set at Lollapalooza last month to the anticipation of her debut album. But if there’s anything you need to learn from her, it’s that you should always trust the process. While the 29-year-old singer originally started as a songwriter in music, Jae has made the ultimate transition of becoming her own artist.
So if you’re a new resident, welcome to a land of drama and get ready to reclaim your self-worth. This fall, AUDACITY takes you on an 11-track journey through seduction, love and separation.
Before its official release, we had the pleasure of chatting with Jae about the roads she’s taken to get here and where she’s planning to set her mark next. Read our exclusive interview with her below.
(Image courtesy of Cass Myers)
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Sweety High: In today’s dating world, what do you think takes the most audacity?
Jae Stephens: To leave. I’m noticing a very disturbing trend where many of my girls love to sit through a horrible date and then go on TikTok to do a story time about it.
By the end of it, I’m on the guy’s side because he gave you five chances to get up and leave. Why didn’t you do it? Leave, quit, run away, go, exit, give up, block. It’s not even a funny story, you just made yourself look insane. Have the audacity to get up and leave.
SH: What were the key ideas or visuals on your vision board for AUDACITY?
JS: I’m not a very visual-led person, so until I know what I’m singing about, nothing else comes into play. But once I realized what the songs were about, I started thinking about this girl who says these things and listens to this kind of music. How does she dress, where does she live, and what kind of woman is she?
It was also fun to play with the campiness of the album title. AUDACITY, Auda City. From there, it reminded me of girls who led this femme fatale charge that I loved growing up. It felt like a world of Catwoman and Coyote Ugly. That kind of heroine really reminded me of the place that I was writing from, so it really did naturally fall into place. But it definitely all starts with the music.
(Image courtesy of Cass Myers)
SH: You dropped a voting poll calling people to vote for which song should be the next single. What made you decide to extend more creative freedom to your fans this time around?
JS: I’m very boots on the ground, ear to the streets. I enjoy hearing from the Jae Baes, getting their opinions, and a feel for what they’re interested in. I wouldn’t be here without them. I really enjoy interacting with them and our ridiculous inside jokes online. That’s gotten me to where I am and having that shared language between us.
Auda City is such a fun concept that lends itself to so many things. A citywide election for my next single that you guys can vote on, my newsletter slash newspaper, or somebody going in to rig the votes by clicking on one option over and over again for the entire day. It’s just a really fun way to get them involved and excited, while also playing into the process. I get just as much enjoyment out of it as I think they do.
u guys get on my nerves so bad omg #ELECTIONCANCELLED #STOPTHECOUNT https://t.co/tHQRbruEye
— jae stephens (@jaephens) August 28, 2026
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SH: How does “Crush” set the scene for this album, and how does “Gymnastics” finish it?
JS: Funny enough, “Crush” is the oldest song on the album not including the bonus track that’s on the physical versions. It really captures me at the beginning of the cycle where I’m like, “Oh that’s over, who cares? What a waste of time, I’m gonna move on and I need something new.”
The album does see me going through that ordeal, whether it be me at my best having a good time, or me at my worst by being avoidant and running away from all of it.
“Gymnastics” feels like the end of the cycle and that moment of acceptance where I’m like,
“Hey… so maybe it’s not you, it’s me. I’ve accepted it and warned you, so I’m just gonna go now.”
I think the album’s about me having the audacity to realize that, say it, and own it a little. Maybe I’m not necessarily proud of it all the time, but at least I can walk in it and be me.
SH: “I Miss The City” shares an emotional tale about wanting to find oneself again after heartbreak. If you could say something to people chasing after the same thing, what would it be?
JS: I kind of love your perspective, because I do feel like people are taking different things from the song. It sounds a lot more forlorn and heartbroken than it really is. I really wanted it to come across that way so that you’d be confused about whether or not this girl is the villain, or if she’s actually been mistreated in some way.
A lot of people hear that and then a lot of people hear, “This girl is just commitment phobic and wants to be outside.” So I’d say whichever version is true for you, live it. Whether you’ve been downtrodden and mistreated, or if you have the best partner in the world.
But if you feel in your spirit that it’s not right and you don’t want to be here, just get up and go. It’s gonna suck, it’s gonna be sad, and that’s the sonic element of the song. It feels bittersweet because technically there’s not a lot wrong here, I just don’t want to be here and that’s okay.
If that’s your truth, go out and shake some a**. I don’t know why everything comes back to leaving with me, sorry. I’m a quitter.
SH: No, I agree 100%. At the end of the day, whatever situation you’re in is yours, so only you know what the best option is going to be.
JS: Definitely. It’s about taking the guilt out of it as well, because I’ve been in situations where on paper, this relationship is fine and perfect. You haven’t done anything wrong, but it’s also just like, “I don’t wanna do it anymore.”
I think that’s okay and it doesn’t need to be some big blow up for you to walk away. If you feel like it’s not serving you anymore in any capacity and you’re really missing the city, you should have the right to pursue it.
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SH: The layers of production on this album are insane! How did you and your team give each song its own identity, but still maintain a cohesive body of work?
JS: That’s down to me and the producer of the whole album, Dallas Caton. He finishes my musical sentences and we operate from very different points. When I come in, I’m not trying to make something that sounds like anything. Leading that charge in what I want to do and my tendencies, vocally or lyrically, is what always makes whatever he brings to the table very cohesive.
On the other hand, he’s always very inspired and in some sort of phase. Across this album, you’re gonna hear him when he was in his Soulja Boy phase, a Madonna phase, or a Janet Jackson phase. Because we have similar tastes, it makes it really fun to find a way to meet those influences in the middle, bring them into the 21st century, and “Jae” it up a little bit. I’m very secure in the place that I write from now and all of my choices.
SH: As your music videos become more intricate, how do you continue challenging yourself creatively while staying true to who you are?
JS: Visuals are always a challenge to me because I’m so music-minded. Everything else really does come after, which is why I leaned into building this city as a backdrop. It helped me streamline what the story is, who the characters are and where every song takes place.
I’ve been locking in on these women across this fictional town in each of my videos and finding ways to get more involved. I’ve found directors, makeup artists, choreographers, stylists and people who really match what’s sitting in my mind or on my Canva music video treatment. That’s been a really fun lesson in world building, cohesiveness, and bringing my music to life.
SH: When the announcement for AUDACITY vinyls at Urban Outfitters came out, you revealed you used to work there. What’s the most memorable experience you had, and do you have a message for the girls holding it down in retail right now?
JS: My most memorable day at work was when a big dramatic heist was revealed. I was hired with this really, really sweet girl. But when we started working there, she dated the bad boy at the store and it went downhill fast.
Next thing we know, it was revealed to all of us that he’d somehow talked her into funneling a bunch of clothes out of the window in the stockroom to the alley down below. They’d put it in his car and sell it on Depop. That was so juicy and dramatic, we were gagged. There was a whole trial and everything.
It was so… I hope she’s doing better now. I hope she’s been scared straight. There was always so much mess happening in our store, but that was probably the biggest scandal.
For the girls in retail, they probably already know this: the customer isn’t always right. Honestly, most of the time the customer is wrong. I say this as both a retail worker and customer: the customer doesn’t know diddly-squat, so just ignore them. I used to do it all the time, that’s why I don’t work there anymore.
SH: What’s something you’ve done in your career that people might not realize took a lot of audacity?
JS: Being an artist [laughs]. Just growing up in L.A. and being a part of the industry, because I did some acting when I was younger. Eventually I was like, “Yeah, I’ll do sessions. I’ll start writing.” I was doing it in a very passive way, with one foot in and one foot out. “Don’t we all write songs, what do you mean? Whatever, who cares?” I carried that attitude a lot, especially as a songwriter, because your job is over when you leave the studio at the end of the day. That’s pretty much it.
As an artist, the job doesn’t start until the song’s done. It requires a lot of delusion, self-belief and conviction every day with very intentional choices. I had to make that switch from “Yeah, I write, I sing, of course I do” to “I’m an artist. This is how it’s going to look, this is how it’s going to sound, and this is what it’s going to be.”
I really had to make that decision and I have to make it every day. But it’s the audacity that keeps me coming back to be like, “I deserve to be in the forefront and make it happen.” So if that’s not audacious, I don’t know what is, honey.
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SH: How would you describe the evolution of your live performances, and what can fellow Jae Baes expect for upcoming shows?
JS: The SELLOUT tour definitely taught me how to have fun and enjoy myself. It also gave me a chance to critique myself in a healthy way because before opening for FLO’s tour and my own, I wasn’t performing on a regular basis. Being faced with new videos of myself every night for weeks on end gave me the chance to watch and change it the next night.
I’m looking forward to going back out in front of Khalid‘s audience in October for Europe and really leaning into relying on myself more than thinking, “What does every person in the front row think of me?”
I’m also excited to incorporate more theatrics. People remarked during my last tour that they thought it was so funny how it was like a skit with spoken interludes in between songs.
This whole Auda City thing has been so campy and I see so many ways to bring that to a stage, so I’m trying to write my script. We’re going to spare the Khalid tour audience, so they won’t get the full spiel. But whenever Auda City hits the road, I definitely want to bring it to a city near you.
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SH: Which songs from AUDACITY are you the most excited to bring to life on stage?
JS: I’ve performed “Attaboy!” and “Sugar Trap” so far, which was my first time writing with performance experience. They’ve been so much fun already, especially the dance break for “Sugar Trap.” It makes me tired as hell, but it’s so fun. It’s at the end of the set for a reason.
Coming up, “Expensive & Difficult” is going to be great and “Gymnastics” too. Almost every song has a dance break, so those moments on the album are going to be really fun for me. Also “No One Knows My Name,” I think it’ll be a real party starter when I get the chance to do it.
SH: I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the videos of P!NK at her tours, where she’s up there flipping in the air. Maybe that for “Gymnastics,” perhaps?
JS: As soon as we get a harness budget and the insurance budget, because that’s going to cost more than the harness, I will be flying through the air. Absolutely, I will do it.
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SH: Lastly, is there anything else you want the fans, or citizens of Auda City, to know that we didn’t ask about?
JS: These signed vinyls are not coming back. So if you don’t get one, it’s over. You’re going to have to find it on Depop one day, and they’re going to be selling it for thousands of dollars. So snatch ‘em up now, honey. That’s all we got… and I love you!
You can listen to AUDACITY in full here:
Want to find more interviews with Jae Stephens? Click HERE to read her chat about performing at Lollapalooza for the first time.
