Dashboard Confessions: Jae Stephens

Hey everyone. We are kicking off a limited series of interviews that I’m calling Dashboard Confessions, featuring creatives I admire whose interests and journeys are rooted in their teen years on Tumblr. I’m asking folks about what their blogs were like and how Tumblr communities influenced who they are today.

For this newsletter, I talked to Jae Stephens, Tumblr-textposter-turned-pop sensation. Many of us who followed her blog in the early 2010s remember the covers she’d post on the site. Now, she’s opening for FLO (starting today!) and is on the fast track toward being a main pop girlie. Upgrade to the Yapper tier so you don’t miss this interview. 

Jae Stephens has had a big year — and it’s just getting started. 

Jae Stephens was signed to Issa Rae’s Raedio last February, and her major label debut has been met with praise from pop music fans online. Her single “Body Favors,” off her latest EP SELLOUT, dropped just as stan Twitter began begging for a new Black pop star to take centerstage. Now, Stephens is ready to step into the spotlight, starting with her first tour supporting the British girl group FLO during their North American leg. 

Stephens has had quite the journey to get to this point, working as a songwriter for artists like J-Lo and Normani and collaborating with others like AJ Tracey. She has also released a number of singles and two EPs prior to SELLOUT. 

In a past life, she was known by her 200,000 Tumblr followers as beyoncebeytwice. A humor blogger, Stephens rose to prominence among fellow teens for her funny, relatable shitposts. She decided to use that platform to drop covers and experiment with original music, inadvertently building a core fan base that would stay with her over the next decade.

In an interview with Yap Year, Stephens talked about her Tumblr days, how they impacted her trajectory, and the next chapter in her artist journey — including opening for FLO. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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