Featured Image Credit: Lauren Tepfer
Torn from the pages of her diary, an open-hearted revelation woven delicately through her imminent debut album, ‘Early Twenties Torture.’ Sadie Jean’s latest single, “I Tried,” released quietly on July 28th, 2025, explores the aftermath of heartbreaking beauty that lingers. Stained with intimacy, a woman of aching candor, her voice echoes with the weight of unspoken goodbyes, playing like a modern footnote on a Joni Mitchell record.
At 22 years old, Sadie Jean understands what many pop artists take decades to learn: that sometimes, silence is more compelling than sound. It’s not the force of her voice but the stillness in it that defines Jean, a calm, aching presence that fans have come to trust. Born in Tustin, California, and now based in New York City, Jean falls pretty fairly as the kind of bi-coastal songwriter who writes like she’s lived two lives at once; one full of coastal sun and soft beginnings, the other marked by silence, solitude, and the hum of a subway late at night. That duality pulses through I Tried, like a heartbeat skipping in time with someone else’s absence.
Sadie Jean broke out in 2021 with “WYD Now?”, a viral confessional that earned her a reputation as Gen Z’s quiet heartbreak poet. But “I Tried” is something different. It’s not about wanting someone back. It’s about what remains after you stop asking. “I Tried” opens with the soft honesty of a text you never send. “Took a break/Needed space/I could’ve begged you to stay.” There’s no melodrama here. Nothing more than the shrug of someone who still has questions but is tired of asking them. Jean doesn’t need to scream; she’s made her sadness articulate.
What’s so piercing is her control. Sadie Jean gives us a line, “I’m pouring tears in a paper cut,” a line that lands like mascara running in a bathroom stall at 2 a.m. It’s more than just sadness. It’s cinematic. The kind of sadness that feels both too much and not enough, like crying over someone who’ll never know what they meant to you. Vulnerability, this raw is usually sanded down in pop production. But not here. Jean leaves it exposed. Musically, “I Tried” is understated, and it’s no surprise for fans of her previous work. It’s that quiet restraint that makes the lyrics hit harder. The song hovers between bedroom-pop and acoustic folk, a space Sadie has made her own. She knows her power isn’t in reinventing a genre. It’s in saying something universal as if it only ever happened to her.
The lyric “Could’ve been sitting in the passenger side/Making you laugh ‘cause another year passed/And birthdays make you cry” is a memory that never got made. It’s soft. It’s beautifully specific. And that’s the beauty of it. Sadie Jean doesn’t write characters. She writes people, and she writes them like someone who still saves screenshots, just in case. The refrain, “I could’ve been someone who loved you/But now I’m just someone who tried,” feels like a thesis statement, not just for the song, but for her entire aesthetic. There is no sad girl summer revenge arc here. No cinematic ending with a twist. Just the unglamorous truth of a girl who loved hard and still lost. Jean is one of the newest skirting swings of singer-songwriters who have turned vulnerability into strength. Try to picture Gracie Abrams, Lizzie McAlpine, or even Taylor Swift when songs seemed like they were copied word for word from a diary page.
Sadie Jean doesn’t paint in bold brushstrokes; she builds her stories from nostalgic “what ifs” and the kind of regret you’ll hold on to long after the song ends. But unlike some of her pop contemporaries, Jean doesn’t chase resolution. On “I Tried”, she doesn’t offer healing, just honesty. And in doing so, she is a mirror for anyone who has ever sat and examined a love affair and seen they were the only author. In a popular culture that often prioritizes spectacle over substance, I Tried is a plaintive shout that breaks through the tinsel with subtlety. From her roots in California to her New York night owl thoughts, Sadie Jean proves again that gentle tunes communicate the loudest of messages.
Follow Sadie Jean Online:
Anthony Mclaude, the enigmatic figure known as Rock & Roll’s Best Kept Secret, delves into the world of music journalism with a raw and unapologetic pen. From established icons to up-and-coming talents, Mclaude fearlessly reviews and reveals the diverse sounds that shape our musical landscape.
Raised in a Christian household by a single mother and grandmother in the 1990s, Mclaude’s journey into the world of rock ‘n’ roll began at a young age. The soulful melodies of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, mixed with the pop sensibilities of Madonna and Alanis Morissette, created a soundtrack that would influence his future path.
A pivotal moment came in 7th grade when Mclaude’s storytelling prowess caught the attention of his teacher, Mrs. DeFeo. Her words of encouragement ignited a fire within him, propelling him towards a future in writing. Fast forward fifteen years, and Mclaude found himself studying journalism at Cumberland County College, honing his skills as a reporter for The Voice.
His dedication and passion for community journalism led him to a position at The People’s Press of Millville, where he made his mark with insightful articles and press releases. Collaborations with publications like Eclectic Shades, Rock At Night, and New Noise Magazine further solidified Mclaude’s reputation as a rising star in the world of music journalism.
With each byline, Mclaude continues to push the boundaries of his craft, capturing the essence of artists and their music with a unique perspective that sets him apart in the industry. As Rock & Roll’s Best Kept Secret, his journey is just beginning, with a future as bright and promising as the music he so passionately writes about.