“WYD Now?” by Sadie Jean

19-year-old Sadie Jean has been the talk of social media since she teased her debut single on TikTok in October, with the video garnering a hugely impressive 3 million views and over 500,000 likes. Jean took advantage of TikTok’s interactive nature to challenge artists to bring their own take to the song, with the likes of JORDY and MILES participating in her “open-verse challenge”.

That excitement is a reflection of Sadie Jean’s huge promise as an artist. She has followed her musical passion into her current studies in recorded music at New York University’s prestigious Clive Davis Institute, with her influences including Joni Mitchell, Phoebe Bridgers and Taylor Swift. “WYD Now?” draws clear inspiration from the confessional songs of those luminaries, with Sadie Jean’s own spin.

“WYD Now?” was recorded in collaboration with Sadie Jean’s best friends and sounding boards Grace Enger and David Alexander.

Sadie Jean shared:

“On each trip, I would always end up writing songs about the same heartbreak, so I think David and Grace knew I wanted to reach out to my high school boyfriend before I was even ready to admit it, which made writing this song an especially vulnerable and eye-opening experience. I didn’t think such a specific song could resonate with so many people, but after posting a clip on TikTok a few days after our writing trip, I was quickly proven wrong.”