Samantha Jade responds to viral TikTok declaring Australia 'failed' her: 'I'm still here'

The year is 2012, you’ve just bought some new clothes at Jay Jays, purchased a Flake Shake from Wendy’s, and now you’re on your way to Sanity to buy a signed copy of Samantha Jade’s new album after she won The X Factor Australia. The pop star, who had previously written music for JoJo and Ashley Tisdale and recorded the title song for the 2006 film Step Up, went on to release the platinum-certified singles ‘Firestarter’ and ‘Soldier’ the following year, cementing her status as a fixture in Australian pop culture.

In the decade since then, Samantha has appeared on Home and Away, opened for One Direction and the Backstreet Boys on tour, and is currently competing on Dancing With The Stars. While she’s continued to release new songs - including her recent bop Peachy which is reminiscent of some of Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter’s biggest hits - her music career became the subject of a viral TikTok this month when one person declared that Australia had 'failed' her.

“How can I be proud to call myself Australian knowing we let down Samantha Jade? We as a nation are responsible for her not making the mainstream and I'll never forgive us for it,” they said.

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Social media users echoed this sentiment in the comments, saying Firestarter is “the greatest pop song of all time”, What You’ve Done To Me “should’ve won a Grammy”, and they don’t understand how Sweet Talk “didn’t go worldwide”.

“HOW IS SHE NOT A GLOBAL SUPERSTAR I will die on this hill forever,” one fan added, while another replied, “We totally let her down and I don’t understand why! Her music is amazing”.

“Justice for Samantha Jade,” someone else declared.

Samantha responds: 'I'm still here'

Samantha tells Yahoo Lifestyle that she’s scrolled through all the comments on the video and it feels “so special” that people reflect on the early years of her career so fondly and have such strong memories attached to her music, like their first kiss or getting over a break-up.

However, the irony of fans lamenting her career when she’s still releasing songs - which are arguably better than her earlier hits - certainly isn’t lost on her.

“When Australia gets on board, they really get on board. And that's why people from the shows really work in Australia, like so many winners of The X Factor and The Voice and all these shows, they're still working and they're still doing it,” she says.

“But I haven't gone anywhere. I'm still here, and I think if people can follow along then it's great. I really do think we should support our own. The fear is that there aren't going to be John Farnhams and Tina Arenas and legends in the country if we don't back Australian acts.”

A new chapter

Not only does Samantha look much different than when she made her reality TV debut 12 years ago, but she admits she’s also singing and writing in a whole new way. This is evident in her forthcoming EP Love.Sick Vol 2 where she’s both singing her heart out in Peachy and opening her heart up in New Me, a yet-to-be-released song about her late mother.

“Every time you put out a new project or you work on something new, it does feel like a bit of a rebirth. But I think with this release, I feel like I'm in a different place,” she remarks.

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“I think there's a new confidence that I've found, which has been really nice to explore. There's something about this last kind of season of me and even doing [Dancing With The Stars] that I've built up a thicker skin, and it's nice because I'm just putting out art now that I really love and not chasing charts and not chasing radio.

“Of course, I would love if it charts and I would love if it gets radio play, but I just really want my fans and the people who have followed me to love what I am giving them, and I want to love what I'm putting out there. And so I'm really come to that place, which is why it does feel like a new season.”

Stream Samantha Jade's new single Peachy on all streaming platforms here.

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