WOWExclusive; Jade Starling; On The Comeback Of “Catch Me I’m Falling” & Why The LGBT Fanbase “Gives Her Life”

If there is anyone that is proof positive that an amazing song can have an amazing rebirth thirty years after it’s release, it’s Jade Starling. Her anthem as part of Pretty Poison “Catch Me I’m Falling” can be heard on not one, but two Netflix shows currently (AJ & the Queen as well as Cheer) and she is preparing for the release of another killer summer anthem. I sat down to catch up with this East Coast performer/activist/icon and we talked about what it was like performing as part of Pretty Poison on some of the legendary music shows of the day, and what we can expect from her new single “Got A Love For You”

Michael Cook: Between being featured on both Cheer and AJ and The Queen, your iconic song “Catch Me I’m Falling” is suddenly on everyone’s lips again, thirty years after it’s release. What is that like?

Jade Starling: I am so grateful and am so glad to hear it. It’s amazing and it’s a real gift.

MC: So take me back; when you were making that classic music with Pretty Poison, did any part of you think that songs like “Catch Me I’m Falling” could become something so legendary?

JS: It certainly has evolved into that hasn’t it? From what I’ve been told, it’s an iconic song. It’s amazing how it keeps reinventing itself and it’s almost like a force of nature. It’s pretty amazing to have the song be in two of Netflix’s biggest shows at once. It’s been a wild amazing ride.

MC: When you saw RuPaul perform your song to a packed bar in that now famed scene in AJ and the Queen, what was your initial reaction?

JS: I was absolutely floored! His performance was so fierce! I do believe that he studied my video, because he had a lot of the moves from the video. He also had the fringe gloves, which I felt were an homage to the fringe jacket that I wore in the original video. I just think he did an amazing job and looked absolutely fabulous!

MC: You have consistently released music that continuously keeps you on the charts and us on the dance floors. Last year you released “Fired Up” and this year you have more music about to drop.

JS: I do! I have another fierce anthem coming out in April called “Got A Love For You”. We have been working on it for a couple months and it’s actually a remake of the Jomanda song. It was a pretty difficult song to redo, but I really worked hard on it. It came out amazing, and we are in the process of getting remixes done now. We are going to drop it to the Billboard panel in April and it will go out everywhere else after that. We are also in the process of working on an album of original material that my partner and I, Whey Cooler from Pretty Poison, he is producing and co-writing with me, we have a bunch of new songs. That is on the list of things to happen by the end of 2020.

MC: What do you think has kept you in the musical forefront and performing all over the world and with such a rabid fan base after all these years?

JS: You know, it is absolutely my passion; to make music and to entertain people. As long as they are gonna come out and appreciate it, we are going to keep on making it. I would die for my audience. I have so much love and appreciation, particularly for my LGBT audience that has followed me since day one. That is basically how it started. I was fifteen years old and doing gay clubs underage. It’s like an organic start to the entire journey, and it just happened. I believe that the appreciation from the fans is very genuine, they just know that I keep giving the love from my heart. I keep doing the Pride events and the clubs and the parties, I just want to be there for them really. I am there for everyone, but I think because of my connection with the LGBT following, I feel that they lift me up so much it keeps me going. They give me energy and life.

MC: The height of Pretty Poison are probably some of your absolute best memories, I think it would be safe to say, correct?

JS: Oh there are a lot of great memories. Touring and meeting other celebrities, stars, things like that. A lot of those appearances on the music shows back then were really something. We did Solid Gold, Soul Train, Arsenio Hall, and American Bandstand, I feel very blessed that we got to meet legends like Dick Clark and Don Cornelius. We had some funny banter going back and forth, and it was such a pure time. There was no social media, and people were just into you because they loved your records. There were no pre-conceived notions, they just loved your music.