It Girl (Jade Thirlwall song)

The song initially teased at the end of her "Angel of My Dreams" music video without a title,^[6] was referenced under the name "It Girl" by fans.^[7][8][9] She would later mention adopting the song name after seeing fans assuming it as the title before an official name was announced,^[10] later revealing the original intended title for the song was "Filthy".^[11] Preceding the song's release, Thirlwall described the song throughout various interviews as the "cunty little sister" of "Angel of My Dreams".^[1][12][8] On 16 December 2024, she announced the release of the single, alongside a pre-save link.^[13]

"It Girl" was co-written by Jade Thirlwall, JHart and Lauren Aquilina on 9 February 2023, as revealed by Thirlwall.^[14] The production of the track was handled by Cirkut and Lostboy.^[15][16]

During an early listening session, The Face Magazine described the song, as "Angel of My Dreams' more crystallised, clubrat sister".^[17] Annabel Nugent of The Independent described it as "a hard and fast electro-pop bop about being poked and prodded, papped and penalised as a woman in the spotlight".^[1] Shahzaib Hussain of Clash Magazine described "It Girl" as "a melodramatic anthem whereby Jade purges her own experience being exploited as a pliable, young female artist."^[12] For Forbes, contributor Chris Malone Mendez wrote: "Jade seemingly takes aim at an industry that is eager to take advantage of women in as many ways as possible."^[18] Writing for the Billboard magazine, Jason Lipshutz described "It Girl" as a song which "immediately showcases Jade's expansive voice before slamming into thick drums and wobbly harmonies—creating a sonic juxtaposition that worked so well with her breakthrough track, and once again succeeds here."^[19]

A snippet would be briefly teased on the visualizer for "Midnight Cowboy". She would once again play snippets of the song at surprise club appearances throughout the rest of 2024.^[20] The song's release date and cover would eventually be announced on 3 January 2025 in a social media post, accompanied by a visual snippet.^[21]

The music video^[b] for "It Girl" was filmed in London on 29 June 2024.^[22] It was directed by Fa & Fon, who previously worked with Jade on the visualiser for "Midnight Cowboy".^[23] In the lead up to release, Thirlwall was seen filming promotional videos at various locations, including: Piccadilly Circus and Soho.^[24] The video premiered on 10 January 2025.^{[25][26][27][28]}