Interview: Dive into JAIE's Emotional World Wrapped in a Vocally Charged Performance at ‘Music Matters Live’

Komal Gupta
6 days ago
6 min read

Photo Courtesy of Branded/Music Matters Live - Dawn Chua & Echo Roar

There’s a stillness about JAIE before she sings. The Malaysian artist took to the main stage at Clarke Quay on September 28, carrying us through a journey of R&B and electronic pop. She walked on stage like a fairy who had accidentally wandered into the city lights. There’s something about her voice—delicate, airy, yet steady—that makes you stop in your tracks. She sang “Vitamin,” “A Little Delulu,” “Daylight,” and “Tropical Downpour,” and for a moment, the bustling crowd felt suspended in her world.

Before her performance at Music Matters Live Singapore, JAIE sat down for a conversation with Mido. She talks the way she sings—open and thoughtful, with pauses where you feel she’s really searching for the truest words.

Q: You’re about to go on stage at Music Matters Live—if this set tonight were a story, what chapter of JAIE’s journey would it be, and what kind of cliffhanger would you leave us on?

JAIE: Well, for which part of the story are we? I would say, like the past year, there have been a lot of changes. So I think it’s a chapter of a lot of growth, evolution, and trying new things. [As for a] cliffhanger, I guess it goes hand in hand with that. ‘Cause right now I’m just trying new things and seeing what works. So I think I want to try anything. I’m not limiting myself to what I want to do next. I think anything could happen with whatever I put out musically. [laughs]

Q: Growing up in Malaysia and then being based in New York—two very different worlds—how has your sense of identity shaped your music and storytelling?

JAIE: I would say that a big part of it is because it’s so different, like you said. And moving back and forth, it’s kind of like an identity crisis—like asking myself, “Where are you from?” “Where does it really feel like home?” And I think I write about that in my songs, as well, just like in one of my lyrics, “I won’t be here for long.” That’s in “Daylight” and another in my new song that I haven’t released yet. I wrote it quite a few years ago. And then the main part is “I don’t really know myself anymore,” so it’s like you’re always changing and you’re always figuring out where home is. It makes you really fluid [and open] in your identity […] I try to see myself as both and try to embrace both as much as possible.

Mido: Does it also help with your music? Like you’re getting both sides of the world, and perhaps you can write about a lot?

JAIE: Yeah, it’s fun! Like in New York, overseas, there’s so much hip-hop, R&B, jazz, classical, and opera. So, a lot of wide influences that you get to see firsthand, right? And in Malaysia as well. There are so many different traditional music that even when you walk around the streets, you can hear drums: so many Indian drums or Chinese traditional drums. Like all these things, they also inspire the music. So, tying back to the identity, I feel like I try to embrace everything. I don’t want to limit myself. I try to include it all and take anything, and be open-minded. Anything could be an inspiration.

Mido: That’s such a positive attitude!

Q: Your new single, “The Very Thought of You,” feels so intimate. What was the spark behind it? How did it come together?

JAIE: I actually wrote it a few years ago, and I was in a relationship at that time. So it was inspired by the feelings I had [back then]. You know when you’re just in the infatuation phase? And you just think about this person, and then it just makes you feel like you’re high or something. Something like that, yeah. So it’s just based on that kind of intimate relationship that you have with somebody else. [laughs]

Q: Back in your SoundCloud days, sharing footage of raw, imperfect tracks with your friends—is there something from that era you miss, or is there a feeling or energy from that time you still chase in your music now?

JAIE: Yeah! I definitely miss it, like it’s very explorative. It’s kind of the feeling that it's not that deep. Like whatever goes when you’re putting it on SoundCloud. It’s not official, right? It’s like putting out a demo. Nobody cares. And that kind of playful attitude is fun, I think! I try to come back to that to remind myself how I started with that nowadays. So, for example, this year with my releases, I’m trying to do more playful stuff with the visuals that I put out. It’s very DIY and low-budget. It’s like just have fun with it. So, that’s my approach this year, kind of drawing from the same attitude.

Mido: In between, did you kind of lose that? And then it just came back?

JAIE: Yeah. So I started on SoundCloud first, and then I started with JAIE, releasing stuff on Spotify. And that was when streaming was just getting really popular. Maybe six or seven years ago? So then things shift, right? And then platforms shift also. And that was also before TikTok… I think with every new platform that comes, you shift your perspective, and people have different perspectives on how music feels on different platforms, right? Like last time, streaming was like… ohh like streaming is like it. I mean, now, people want to go back to like… I don’t know other ways of discovering music. Not just playlists and whatever, right? So yeah. It’s always shifting. I think after last year, I tried to go back to playfulness again.

Q: If you could whisper one lyric or one truth into the ear of your younger self right before she uploaded her first track, what would it be?

JAIE: Honestly, I don’t know. ‘Cause I think I was on the right track, like the right mindset of like “yeah, you should do this!” Maybe it’ll be like…. “Yeah, this is like fun! Just have fun.” “Just do what you want. Create it, release it, share it.” Sometimes I think about what I did last time. I was like, “whoa!” Sometimes I listen to that stuff and I’m like “how did I do that?” [laughs]

Mido: It happens. It happens. [laughs]

JAIE: It’s like “whoa, what was I thinking?”. But it works! I’m glad I did that, you know.

Q: What’s one artistic risk that still feels too big, too wild—but secretly excites you and you want to do it?

JAIE: So I thought about this. It’s not wild, but it’s a step out for me: dance [and] choreography. I love watching dancers. When people choreograph to my songs, it’s so satisfying, and it’s another form of expression. It’s not a skill that I have. So if I could do that, that would be so fun! I have to practice also. [laughs] I can groove, but dancing is like yeah… I need to put in the hours.

Q: What’s one thing you hope the audience remembers about your performance tonight?

JAIE: I guess my new song “Vitamin” that I’ll be playing later. Yeah! I’ll be playing that one, so I hope they remember that one. That came out two months ago, I think.

Q: Imagine the crowd tonight can only remember a single lyric you’ve written—the one line that sums up you. Which lyric do you want them chanting back years from now?

JAIE: That’s so hard! [laughs] Maybe the chorus of “Vitamin”: “I’ll walk to you the way I wanna walk, and will you walk to me?” So kind of like you do you. Just do what feels right for you. If this song feels right for you, then listen to it. Just meeting people where they are. Meet me halfway. Do you!

Q: To close things off—if your fans and Mido readers could carry one feeling from you into their day, what would it be?

JAIE: One feeling… the previous thing I said just now, [laughs] yeah.

Q: Any message you would like to share with the Mido readers out there?

JAIE: Stay tuned! I’ll be putting up my single. So stay tuned over the upcoming months and also next year. Thank you!

If you caught JAIE live at Music Matters Live SG, you know it was magical. Which song hit you the hardest? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Drop a comment or slide into our DMs on Instagram or X!