JADA: Candy for your Ears

When asked what food JADA would be if the all-girl pop / R&B group could be packaged for the pleasure of your taste buds, the girls reply without hesitation, “A Sky Bar!” If you aren’t familiar with the candy or the band, a quick oral exploration of the former and aural exploration of the latter will make you feel intimately familiar with each. The candy is milk chocolate coating over four pieces which each have a different flavored center. As you bite into the treat, you may find that one or the other becomes your personal favorite, but you’d have to admit that it’s the combination of all four that makes the Sky Bar the indulgence that it is. This is a terrific metaphor for JADA.

This soulful quartet which has drawn comparisons to Destiny’s Child and En Vogue is comprised of four dynamic young performers who each bring their own musical background to the create the treat they are as a group. There’s April who has a rock / hip-hop background and loves performing songs like “Buckwild” which highlight the girls’ flirtatious high-energy dance breaks. There’s Elle with the softer country side who enjoys inspiring the audience with the beautiful melodies and positive lyrics of songs like “Do Your Thing”. There’s Lauren whose neo-soul / R&B roots come to life when she does her part of the girls’ crowd-pleasing cover of The Beatles “Oh Darlin’”. And there’s pop / rock Jacyn whose favorite performance is of the same cover but whose reason is that the song highlights the individual vocals of each JADA girl.

It is these vocals that really make JADA stand out. Unlike almost any other girl group in the industry, the women of JADA all have strong vocals and the group makes use of songs which let all of the members take their turns with the lead. Although they have run into some problems with writers and producers who aren’t used to this unique vocal arrangement, the girls have stuck to their guns on the importance of this part of their skills. The result is that they have developed a polished, full sound which works well in live performance.

Interestingly, the fact that all the girls sometimes take the lead has helped to limit competition amongst the group. Although there are inevitably issues that come up with a group of four who are together five hours a day, six days a week, the members of JADA have worked out their personal kinks and taken their status as a group to that next level. They may be a set of flirty fun, eye-catching, ear-catching performers but these women work as hard as they play. They write many of their own lyrics, a rarity among pop artists, and they each do individual training on top of their work as a group to better hone their sound. This professional approach to creating their music has earned them credibility in the industry.

Having already worked with some big industry names (like J.R. Rotem and Babyface), JADA has huge dreams for the near future starting with their current work with Universal / Motown Records and looking towards The Grammys. Their website says that they have a new album coming out soon and their Facebook page is active so this is a set of girls to keep an eye on in the near future.