NME’s latest star of The Cover, Jae Stephens, has compiled an exclusive playlist to accompany the story’s launch – check it out below.
The rising pop star is on this week’s (November 17) edition of The Cover, a weekly manifestation of NME’s commitment to supporting emerging talent across the globe on a weekly basis. Every week, a rising artist will feature on The Cover – you can read the profile of Jae Stephens here, written by Kayleigh Watson and featuring photography by Bradley Meinz.
To accompany The Cover, Jae Stephens has curated a pop-focused exclusive playlist for NME called ‘She’s Sooo Sellout’. The collection features a variety of hits and fan favourites from pop legends over the years, including Beyoncé’s ‘Kitty Kat’, Janet Jackson’s ‘All For You’, Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’, Ariana Grande’s ‘Love Language’ and more. Listen to the full playlist on Spotify below and on Apple Music.
In this week’s The Cover, Stephens opens up about how watching other people work in the studio slowly led her to ‘Body Favors’, the second track taken from her 2024 EP ‘Sellout’. Underpinned by a sludgy bassline, honeyed vocals and playful melody, the track’s mischievous lyrics (“Sour on top but it’s sweet below / But how many licks til you reach it though?”) encapsulate what has come to be Stephens’ quintessential sound.
“I just felt like [‘Body Favors’] was me personified. It had so much character and spunk and was a little sexy and a little sweet and was tongue-in-cheek, and it was mildly appropriate without being vulgar. It was upbeat but wasn’t too squeaky; it had edge but wasn’t too dark,” she says. “It walked such a specific line, and I remember thinking ‘I have no idea who we would send this song to, I can’t think of anyone who fits all of these opposing boxes… but I can!”
Hitting that perfect recipe pushed Stephens to refocus on herself and intentionally pursue a career as an artist. “When I wrote that one, it definitely made me feel like I had an identity, because I was definitely strung [out] with that a bit, musically,” she adds. “I’m not the smooth and sexy seductress with R&B songs – bitch, I’m goofy! And I like to have fun!”
Find out more about Jae Stephens in the full Cover story here and see who else has been on The Cover here.