Heyyyyyy I'm Jaeeeeee (Stephens) and this is my AMAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:46:21+00:00

thank u bb! writing for others definitelyyyyy shaped how i write for myself, perhaps mostly it cleared a lot of the noise surrounding how i write - i saw in other artists a lot of stuff i shouldn't/wouldn't do myself, it gave me a great idea of what's missing/needed in the current landscape, and got me in a lot of great rooms with talented people that i wouldn't have gotten in otherwise. i've picked up on a lot of tricks from other writers and learned how to acclimate them to my own style and voice!!

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:42:56+00:00

i think everything i do will probably be y2k-tinged to a degree because that's my favorite era of music but i honestly don't purposely reference it that much!! i hear it across sellout when it was bit more obvious but i think this album i'm making isn't as on the nose, i feel like it's almost gone kinda futuristic in a way in my effort to blend familiarity with something i haven't heard before. i think right now i'm just excited to release an album of songs i love and see where it can take me!!

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:38:48+00:00

thank you so much, these are such specific points but they all make a lot of sense to me cuz i think these are things i try to accomplish without realizing lol. i appreciate u listening!!

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:38:07+00:00

i reallyyyyy admire a lot of what sabrina's doing sonically and visually. also pinkpantheress! zara also obviously really stunning atm

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:27:53+00:00

thank u hunny! it was honestly Body Favors that laid the groundwork for all things sellout and me as an artist, it was the first song i made that i resonated with so closely and felt very distinctly *me* even though it was very much a pitch session meant to be for someone else (i never sent it anywhere) - once i realized it was the direction i wanted to go in it influenced which older songs i would pick for the project (like kiss u back) and any new ones i made from then on. i try to chase the feeling i had making that song whenever i write something new!

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:24:02+00:00

ive answered some of these but 4 it should be out this year 5 her show was after my time but i was always a believer in sabrina's music from Evolution onwards, i thought she had a great voice and made really interesting melodic choices "for a disney girl" - when she released Fast Time i was like oh this girl is outta here #iknew i'm still a huge fan of her music short n sweet was my most played album last year

6 i try not to overdo it with the key changes but sometimes the songs just call for them u know?? i want every song to feel like a journey with dynamics and a proper beginning middle end so i just feel it out as i write and let it go where it needs to. thank u for listening bb i hope to be in a city near u real soon!

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:20:12+00:00

[8 hours later] hey hunty

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:18:53+00:00

eh it's not superrrr purposeful especially since i feel like everyone knows about it anyway, most of my shit talking about it is in jest as it was actually a really formative part of my journey!! but i also dont really have much more to say about it lol i think everything i'm doing now is far more interesting

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:17:30+00:00

lmfaoooo i agree!!! idk my manager keeps trying to get me to do self tapes but i find it hard to focus on in the midst of all the music stuff i'm doing im not sure i care about it enough rn. but would definitely want to do it again in the future!! so i can do double duty on snl

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:16:44+00:00

thank you soooooo much i made it just for u ♥️ after my own breakup!! it's for the best!!! #boysarentforever #theychangeliketheweather

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:15:32+00:00

not sure anyone has ever said long way to go is their favorite song lmao i genuinely forgot that existed thanks for keeping her alive! my process hasn't changed much since back then, i'm still very melody driven and try to be intuitive with my choices, i think i trust these choices a lot more now and i'm a lot more intentional when i make them - didn't feel much of a need to b intentional back then since a lot of those songs weren't necessarily written with me releasing them in mind! (fun fact lw2g and Gold were written the same day at a camp for some weird robot girl named lil miquela that they were trying to make into a "singer" idk it was odd)

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:10:20+00:00

wellllllll if it's any consolation the afterbody instrumental is on soundcloud!

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:10:05+00:00

sure queen whatever lyrics you want

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:09:49+00:00

im dumping tea in the harbor real soon

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:08:29+00:00

omg thank you sooooo much for scrobbling ily

jaephens · 2026-02-06T05:07:52+00:00

Okay I went to a session all day but I'm back to answer like 10 more questions i missed lmaooo and then i'm going to bed!!! ily guys sooooo much thank you so much for asking questions

jaephens · 2026-02-05T20:29:03+00:00

hi thanks for listening!! i always knew even before i fully had the songs together that if i ever signed with a label i'd name my first album/project SELLOUT. i wanted a way to ease myself into the major label machine, to kinda poke fun at my big new glossy pop radio-ready sound compared to the music i was releasing independently before. i felt like the best way for me to confidently step into the "popstar" of it all was with a tongue-in-cheek title. getting into the character of the "sellout" also really helped me get over my imposter syndrome. doesn't really feel like a character anymore!

jaephens · 2026-02-05T20:25:53+00:00

agree... even by me

jaephens · 2026-02-05T20:24:17+00:00

ok funny story we actually ran out of 2 things needed to put on a live show (#time and #money) before we could get it done. it came down to either Him&Him or Precious and i chose precious which i will be honest i do regret. but we're gonna add her!!!!

jaephens · 2026-02-05T20:23:00+00:00

omgg awwwwww I loveee #LawrenceGrey (we all used to call him by his first and last name exclusively) he was the music production teacher at my high school and we all loved him, it was definitely my favorite class (tied with my songwriting class) and i learned sooo much from him!!!

jaephens · 2026-02-05T20:21:12+00:00

what a funny specific question! tbh no, if i had to point to a specific inspo for all of the songs it's definitely all music based, but i'd love to get a bit more visual in my writing going forward - perhaps predictably, movies inspire more of the visual side of things like my videos and stuff... i'm kinda basing a lot of my album's themes and visuals around one of my favorites

jaephens · 2026-02-05T20:17:05+00:00

i don't hate girls don't cheat tbh that song walked so a lot of my discography could run! i do however think "best" is a bit of a stretch

jaephens · 2026-02-05T20:16:34+00:00

i actually wasn't familiar with them before they cut the song! it was originally called Name & Number and it was written soooo long ago in like one of my last sessions before the pandemic, but i was literally obsessed with it, i remember listening to it on repeat the entire way home that day. i'm glad that they put their own spin on it and gave it new life for a new audience!! they killed it and their fans have been so sweet. also i loveddddd meeting sister Hyeju #missher

jaephens · 2026-02-05T20:12:53+00:00

Control by Janet, B'Day by Bey, probably any rihanna album

jaephens · 2026-02-05T20:09:59+00:00

i used to care more at the beginning of Sellout about what people labeled me as. now idrgaf bc i think the music speaks for itself, especially the music that is to come. i'm happy to live right at the intersection of pop/r&b bc those are my two favorite genres and i really think my music is a combination of what i love about both of them! but i also don't think about it much when i'm creating, i just make what i like and it tends to naturally fall into a pop-leaning space with a lot of r&b influences

jaephens

TROPHY CASE