JET Steams!
The gender-bending, boundary-pushing artist
returns with provocative EP
Chris Feliciano | photos by Magnus Hastings
JET Steams!
The gender-bending, boundary-pushing
artist returns with provocative EP
Chris Feliciano
photos by Magnus Hastings
Queen SirJET has never shied away from pushing boundaries, and her latest EP, The Torture of Consent, is no exception. A fearless storyteller, she channels personal struggles into hauntingly honest lyrics, exploring themes of identity, loneliness, and resilience. Raised in suburban Chicago and Scottsdale, Arizona, she grappled with gender dysmorphia from a young age, only fully embracing her true self after moving to Hollywood. Her musical evolution—from her 2012 debut Shout-out to the Lonely to her critically acclaimed 2020 album Empowered Bottom—has been a testament to her unwavering commitment to authenticity. Now, in her fourth collaboration with producer Velvet Code, Queen SirJET delivers some of her most introspective work yet, confronting painful memories and celebrating self-acceptance through bold, evocative songwriting.
How has your identity informed your music, especially
on this latest EP, The Torture of Consent?
Queen SirJET: For most of my life I’ve been aware that I am very much a woman in a man’s body, and I no longer hide it or apologize for it. In that sense I’m not afraid to refer to myself as “she” or “her” in my lyrics on this EP. This is the first time I’ve done that in the twenty plus years I’ve been writing music; and it feels quite natural. As non-binary performers, singers are so often encouraged to keep their song lyrics gender-neutral for fear of alienating fans. I’m at the point where I don’t want to play it safe anymore. I want to make the music I want to make and see what follows.
The title of your EP is powerful and evocative. What inspired it,
and how does it reflect the themes explored in the project?
Queen SirJET: The phrase came to me in a dream, and it basically means the regret you feel when you agree to something that intuitively you knew was not a good choice, but you did it anyway. You could say I’m often the poster child for bad decisions. I’ve made so many career choices, hiring people who said they would help me and didn’t, both as a singer and a porn persona, and that sense of regret found its way into a bunch of songs on the EP, like “Release Me” and “Male Femininity”.
“Release Me” is a high-energy anthem that feels both liberating and urgent. What message were you hoping to convey with this lead single?
Queen SirJET: I’ve always had stars in my eyes. I had this pop star vision of myself since I was young, and I’ve pushed and pushed myself so much, and so many times I feel like I have failed and then had to start over. “Release Me” is a song about realizing how hard it has been to succeed and asking that higher self who put those goals in my head in the first place to let me let go. The truth is I cried my eyes out while writing the song, because it was so hard to admit defeat; but realizing how much it hurt to let go, I added that last line to the chorus: “but I’m making sure you all remember me” as a way to say “I may feel defeated, but I’m not giving up.” And that is the message of the song: feel your pain but then pick yourself back up and keep going.
Your music often blends genres and challenges conventions.
How did you approach the creative process for this EP,
and were there any unexpected influences?
Queen SirJET: The producer, Velvet Code, and I, worked on one song at a time, but there was still some blending. For example, some lyrics that were originally meant for “Alive” found their way into “Break Free” and “Male Femininity”. I started to notice themes of failure and wanting to be accepted were finding their way into each song. Collectively though, the strange thing is the first line of every track was the first thing I heard while listening to the backing tracks. Each time the song would just grow from that opening line. It was just a strange coincidence that it happened with every song.
The concept of consent can be interpreted in so many ways—emotional, societal, sexual. How do you explore these layers
in the EP?
Queen SirJET: Sexual consent has been a huge part of my life for years. I’m not ashamed to admit there have been quite a few instances where I gave my body to people who I shouldn’t have in exchange for promises of fame. I think that’s a reoccurring theme in my songs. I have often tried to use my body to get what I want, but unlike those women you hear about in the tabloids, my exploits didn’t amount to much. That’s where the line in “Stay with Me” comes from where I say “one too many men/am I a bad person?” Am I a bad person for trying to use people who were actually using me?
What was the vision behind the music video for “Release Me,”
and how does it tie into the broader narrative of the EP?
Queen SirJET: We chose the space to film before we had created the concept for the video. It was this set of rooms with different lighting and backdrops. I loved it because it was very dark like the song. Then the director, Brad Hammer, had this idea of a voyeur type theme. What if someone was watching me perform in each of these rooms and getting off on it, and it became a forbidden peep show type concept? Like the idea of torture vs. freedom explored in the EP, you can see in the video that in some rooms I’m very restricted, and in other rooms I’m able to move quite fluidly.
In an era where self-expression is both celebrated and policed, how do you navigate the balance between personal freedom
and societal expectations in your art?
Queen SirJET: I’m currently on my third instagram account. What was once safe to post on there, for example a bare butt, is now considered a violation. As someone who’s been a nude model since I was 23, I literally had to learn that nudity was not the norm, and every year I feel like we’re being told a new form of censorship on social media. If we want to keep our accounts active, we have to keep adjusting to these new rules, and so we have to keep adjusting and tweaking our art in order to stay visible.
What do you hope listeners feel or experience when they hear The Torture of Consent from start to finish?
Queen SirJET: Empathy. There is no greater reward as a singer than to hear someone say they resonate with what you are singing about. There may be queer subjects in the songs, but the songs are not about being queer, they’re about being human, and realizing that pain and healing are universal.
Looking at your evolution as an artist, how does this EP mark
a new chapter in your career?
Queen SirJET: I’m recognizing my strengths as well as my flaws on this album, and typically in the past my songs were simply about my pain or my sexuality. So, in a way I’m showing a different side of myself. The sex and pain are still there, but they come with a sense of knowing myself better than I have before.
If you could sum up The Torture of Consent in one word or phrase, what would it be—and why?
Queen SirJET: “This is Me.” It sounds corny, but yes, listen to my words and you will hear who I truly am, beyond the costumes, beyond the body, beyond the stories people form in their heads about me. These lyrics are the real me.
Visit https://linktr.ee/iamsirjet.