Do you have your eyes on Lexi Jayde yet? You should at this point — after releasing the stunning “drunk text me” in January, the young singer-songwriter has been on a world-dominating pace as she’s approached the release of her sophomore EP closer to closure, which is out today via Artist Partner Group. She’s seemingly got every major producer on speed dial, with FINNEAS and Alexander 23 both making production credits on the EP, and that can be credited to the fact that she’s got a grasp on delicate, emotional songwriting that feels unmatched in the pop space right now. closer to closure‘s nine tracks take listeners on an emotional journey through a breakup, with the tear-soaked balladry of “drunk text me” and “homesick” leading to inspiring, anthemic tracks like “self sabotage” and “gentle”, which is premiering a music video today that you can watch below. Unlike other EPs that can sometimes feel like a slammed-together collection of songs, this project feels intentionally crafted to bring listeners alongside Lexi through one of the toughest trials of her life. It’s one of the most impressive and fully-formed EPs I’ve heard this year, and it suggests that Lexi Jayde is here to stay. I caught up with Lexi following a six-week-long tour with Clinton Kane, and we discussed the EP, the power of music to heal, and what’s next for her following the release of this massive project:
First thing’s first — I’m really enjoying this EP a lot.
Aw, thank you!
I’m really impressed with the way that you genre-hop; you have a remarkable command of songwriting for this to only be your second release. What does the creative process look like for you, or at least how did it look for this EP?
When I went through my breakup, I remember telling myself that I was going to take as much time as I could to create a project that was incredibly meaningful. Whether that was three months, eight months, or a year — I was going to create something that I was incredibly proud of. I think the reason why these songs are kind of all-over-the-place is that I wanted each song to be its own story and have its own world to exist within; I wrote almost every day for eight months, and there’s this narrative that you can hear and feel going through the album that’s really just me figuring my shit out. I think it all fits in the same world of Closer to Closure; when I was writing from August to February of this year, I was writing as my emotions were happening. In the beginning, I felt super sad and I wasn’t doing too well, which resulted in all of these ballads pouring out of me and into the project. As I got stronger, I felt stronger with my songwriting — that’s where “self sabotage” and “hate to be you” came from. I think my writing process is telling honest stories and making music that’s not only relatable to what I went through but making sure that everyone around the world can relate to each song in their own way.
Was there any moment when you were working on it where you realized you had something special on your hands?
I think when I posted “drunk text me” on the Internet and it blew up — that was the moment for me where I was asking “Is this where it happens? Is this where my music takes off?” I was getting so much feedback and commentary from people all over the world.
That felt like a bomb going off — like there’s pre-“drunk text me” and then post-“everyone knows who Lexi Jayde is.”
Oh my god, stop (laughs). We’re getting there! Not there yet, we’re getting there! After this drops, I feel like I’ll have connected with everyone. (laughs) When that song came out, that whole month after it happened, I just remember pinching myself because I couldn’t believe it was happening. I had written like seventy songs for this, and there came a moment where I had to actually pick out what was going to be on it and suddenly everything became more real. I also think that figuring out the name was a major eureka moment in realizing “oh shit, this is happening now”.
I’d love to dive into that — I think that closer to closure is a pretty brilliant name, in that it sums up the EP’s contents and also is a nice play on words. Where did you come up with that?
I was thinking about it for months; I had a name picked out for SO long that I just decided I hated it. I was in the car with my best friend and just going through the EP trying to think of something — I wanted it to be very targeted at first like this ep is about you or thank you for these songs, but I also wanted it to be classy because I didn’t want to give my ex too much credit. (laughs) I felt like this EP was the closest that I’d get to closure — and then I remembered the “drunk text me” lyric “Cause I’m no closer to closure”, and it illuminated just how far I was from the moment when I wrote that song. It felt like a lightbulb went off, and I texted my whole team immediately that we had the EP title.
One of the things I remember about that month was how FINNEAS started sharing that song around, and eventually, he found himself on closer to closure. How did that collaboration happen?
He’s been an incredible friend of mine and has believed in my music from the very beginning. He’s an awesome friend to have. He and I wrote “someday” together, and it was the culmination of months of shouting at each other “We need to write!” He’s just so busy, you know? We finally got together and made some of my favorite songs that I’ve ever written, and he produced a little bit on “self sabotage”, and I’m just so thankful that he wanted to get involved on this EP.
I always hate asking this question because it feels gimmicky and the most important thing is that this release is out today, but what do you think your next year looks like now that this is out?
After this EP comes out, it’s complete album mode. I’m going to start writing my debut album and piecing that together amidst some (hopeful) headline tours. I’m hesitant to predict anything because life is crazy, you know? I’m not quite sure what the next year looks like, but I know it’s going to be incredible — I can’t comprehend that I’m starting to write my debut album.
Going back to touring a little bit — how was the tour with Clinton Kane? Was that your first time really hitting the road?
It was so much fun; Clinton has my whole heart. I’d gone out before with Adam Melchor but it was only for, like, two weeks, so I feel like I only got a taste of tour life. This was a month and a half on the road. (laughs) He is truly so incredible — I’m so grateful that I got to support someone as talented as him. The tour was really amazing because I learned a lot about taking care of myself on the road; a lot of really random, tricky obstacles popped up that we pushed through to bring a show to people, and it really showed me what a group effort touring is, ESPECIALLY right now. It was so insane seeing people singing these songs; you go out there as an opener and hope that you walk away with some people caring about who you are, so it was overwhelming walking on stage and feeling the love and energy that these random people are putting out into the world for you and your art.
We’ve obviously deconstructed the narrative style of the EP, but I’d love to know what the significance of this project is for you. It feels much heavier than anything you’ve done so far.
This project and this breakup were such a huge part of my life in the past year of my life. I’ve been through hell and back in these past nine months — and at the end of the day, this project showcases what I bring to the table as an artist and songwriter for what I feel is the first time ever. I’m the proudest of this EP; I could cry talking about it. I think the most amazing thing about music and what I love doing is taking all of these painful experiences that are so universal and specific at the same time, and turn it into something that might be able to help so many people heal their own hearts. I really believe that this EP has the power to do this; people can walk away after hearing this EP knowing that they’re not alone. When I went through this breakup, I felt so lonely until I put in my headphones, and the thought of being able to do that for somebody else is the most important thing to me about closer to closure.
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Stream closer to closure here.
