Sadie Jean is done playing by the rules — and her new single “The One That I Want (But I Don’t Know Why)” is proof.
The confessional alt-pop songstress who broke our hearts with the viral “WYD Now?” and “Locksmith” is flipping the script with an upbeat, guitar-driven track that feels like a girls’ night rant turned sonic therapy session.
“It’s a campy, playful, but brutally honest rant about the torturous experience of being in love with a loser,” Sadie shares in a statement. “The pathetic and frustrating feeling of lowering my standards ironically materialized in the most fun/upbeat song I’ve ever made.”
And fun is the name of the game. The music video, which co-stars Sadie’s friends and roommates (including fellow artists Bebe Stockwell, Devon Gabriella, Lindsey Lomis, and Bailey Mendelson), plays like a chaotic, dreamy girls’ night out — until it’s inevitably ruined by that “WYD?” text. You know the one.
“I cannot wait for my listeners to hear a new side to me and my songwriting,” she says. “This song and my upcoming album really feel like the most me I’ve ever been.”
Despite her growing popularity — and a debut headline tour that saw her selling out venues across the U.S., U.K., and Europe — Sadie’s journey to pop stardom started quietly. Like, literally in her bedroom.
“I was always writing songs in my room with no intention of anyone hearing them,” she recalls to Celeb Secrets on a Zoom call while on a trip in the mountains. “It was my biggest secret. If anyone overheard, I would’ve been mortified.”
Growing up in a not-so-artsy, lacrosse-loving high school, Sadie admits she downplayed her talents — even purposely singing badly in the car so no one would catch on. But everything changed when she applied to college and realized she couldn’t pretend anymore. A single Instagram cover (posted while a little drunk on the beach) unlocked everything.
“None of my closest friends had ever heard me sing,” she laughs. “And then I posted that, and everyone — including my brother — found out.”
She eventually landed at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, where she learned to embrace her artistry and start sharing her music more publicly. The rest? History in the making.
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If you’ve ever cried in the shower to “Nice Knowing You,” just know you’re not alone — and Sadie probably cried while writing it, too.
“That song was my way of closing the book,” she explains. “It was the most mature breakup song I’ve ever written. There was no resentment, just appreciation for the connection — even if it ended too soon.”
Inspired sonically by “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane, the track’s music video captures Sadie in a whirlwind of emotions, wandering NYC with her real-life best friend as she replays the rise and fall of a situationship that never quite became real.
But with her newest single, Sadie’s turning the dial from heartbreak to high-key hot mess — in the best way.
“The One That I Want (But I Don’t Know Why)” was born from a rant session with co-writer Grace, channeling the infuriating, confusing moment of being hopelessly into someone who clearly isn’t stepping up. “It’s for the girls,” she says. “It just feels like going insane over a guy who doesn’t deserve it.”
Sadie’s currently deep in the process of finishing her debut full-length album, set to drop this August — and if it feels personal, that’s because it really is.
“Most of the album is embarrassingly about the same guy,” she says. “It tells the full arc of our relationship — from the ‘do we like each other?’ phase to ‘why did we ever do this?’”
She describes the record as a love letter to the chaos of dating in your early twenties: the emotional whiplash, the what-ifs, and the short-lived flings that hit way harder than they should. It’s raw, real, and quintessentially Sadie.
“I’m learning how to let go,” she reflects. “I’m such a perfectionist, but I’m finally starting to trust myself — to let the songs exist exactly as they are.”
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Between prepping her album, planning her next headline tour, and manifesting a future set at London’s iconic KOKO venue, Sadie’s got big dreams for 2025. But when we asked her to share a Celeb Secret? She revealed her backup plan might’ve involved teeth.
“I really wanted to be a dentist when I was a kid,” she laughs. “My dentist was a family friend, and I thought he was the coolest. So I wanted to be just like him… which is so funny now.”
Luckily for us (and our playlists), Sadie Jean chose the pop star life — and honestly, we can’t imagine it any other way.
