How Jessie Murph’s Blend of Genres and Styles Landed Her the Biggest Album of Her Career So Far

Jessie Murph is no stranger to the charts. The singer first broke onto a Billboard chart as a teenager in 2021, when her single “Always Been You” — the entree to her first project, the 2023 mixtape Drowning —crashed onto the Hot 100 at No. 95. Since then, she’s made steady progress climbing higher and higher: collaborations with Diplo and Polo G (“Heartbroken,” No. 64), Jelly Roll (“Wild Ones,” No. 35) and Koe Wetzel (“High Road,” No. 22) all helped pave the way for her own projects, with debut album That Ain’t No Man That’s the Devil debuting at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 last fall.

Now 20, Murph has taken things to new heights this year: Her single “Blue Strips” reached No. 15 on the Hot 100 in May, becoming her first top 20 hit. That led into the release of her sophomore album, Sex Hysteria, which this week debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 with 44,000 equivalent album units, marking her first top 10 album. The project, which includes collaborations with Gucci Mane and Lil Baby, is a showcase of her genre-blending style, shifting from country to hip-hop to dance music and back as she explores a range of influences and sounds. And the success of the project so far has earned her manager and Disruptor Management senior director Julie Leff the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.

Here, Leff discusses the work that’s gone into building Murph’s career over the past few years, the first-week success of the project and how all those collaborations and cross-genre influences have helped Murph tap into new audiences. “We always praise authenticity at Disruptor and allowing artists to express themselves sonically or visually in the way that is most true to them, regardless of genre, is what resonates the most with their fan base,” Leff says. “The blends of inspirations and how those manifest themselves in each project are what make artists these days stand apart.”

This week, Jessie Murph landed her first top 10 album of her career, as Sex Hysteria debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 with 44,000 equivalent album units. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?

I think the first key decision was to start a new album and touring cycle less than 12 months after her previous release. Above all else, I trust in Jessie’s creative process to lead the way, and we recognized that there was demand for another project from her, as well as going back to tour markets she hadn’t been to in over a year. We focused on messaging and storytelling. We wanted to make sure there was awareness not only that she was starting a new chapter, but that this chapter would be a departure from her last one, even though they came out in close proximity to each other. Every decision we made over the course of the Sex Hysteria album campaign was specific to ensure we drove home the feeling and aesthetic of this era and kept it cohesive. The creative for this era was Jessie’s baby and was brought to life in such a special way by her creative director at Disruptor, Claire Schmitt.

This is her third album to chart on the Billboard 200, with each building higher than the last. How have you helped her build her presence since her 2023 debut?

Something we’ve done really well over the years is stay active and stay consistent. Jessie is the hardest-working artist I’ve ever worked with; since releasing her first song, we never paused releasing music and never stopped touring. We’ve released a lot of songs across three projects in four and a half years, oftentimes with one to two weeks in between releases. I have to give credit to our team at Columbia Records for giving us the support, the leeway, and the encouragement to stay so active. Jessie was on the road for the last four years, going from primary markets, to Europe, to Australia, on to secondary markets and festivals, and is currently back out for another worldwide tour. She’s connected to her fan base that has grown with her online and on the road, and puts them first. I am proud of her commitment to developing as an artist year after year.

“Blue Strips” became her first top 20 hit on the Hot 100. What was the strategy behind helping that break through?

I feel like we’ve been working towards this moment for years now. When I think about the strategy behind “Blue Strips” specifically, a lot of it came down to timing it right. Jessie initially shared part of the song on social media months prior to when we ultimately released it; we knew from the response online that it was something special. She made this incredible body of work and conceptualized a whole world that it was going to live in. We knew if we were patient and didn’t rush out the song, it would pay off. We decided to release “Gucci Mane” to kick off the campaign, and then released “Blue Strips” alongside her Coachella and Stagecoach performances. That groundswell of activity, and knowing when to activate it, helped propel “Blue Strips” into what it has become.

She had previously charted with features alongside artists like Jelly Roll, Koe Wetzel and Diplo and Polo G. How have those collaborations helped raise her profile and reach as an artist? 

Well, every new collaboration opens you up to more fans and opportunities to be introduced to new audiences, of course. They all came from organic relationships that Jessie started with these artists. I think the team has done a great job of making these collabs dynamic and not something that exists on DSPs. Whether it’s been popping out with Jelly Roll at Jingle Ball or Times Square NYE, or singing with Koe and Diplo at Stagecoach, giving these records dimension has been a vital part of our strategy around collaborations. Almost equally important is that these moments help provide additional context for fans to see sides of Jessie and understand her more deeply as an artist who is multi-faceted and genre agnostic.

She’s dipped into country, hip-hop, dance music and more in developing her sound and in her singles. How much does genre still play a role for developing artists these days?

Today’s fans listen to so many different genres, especially Gen-Z. Jessie is the same and listens to everything from Lil Baby to Amy Winehouse to legacy country artists. When she goes in the studio, the music she’s making is reflective of the wide range of music she listens to. It’s more authentic to blur genre lines than to artificially put herself in one specific box.

You work in both management and on the label side. What have you learned from each that you can apply to working with an artist like Jessie?

Whether it’s on the label or management side, I’ve always felt incredibly lucky that I get to work so closely with artists and get to understand them firstly as human beings. One thing I’ve learned that has been particularly useful working with an artist like Jessie is to not let the instinct to protect your client keep you from shying away from taking risks, either creatively or strategically. It’s in my nature to overthink decisions because I view myself as the last line of defense on the artist team, and I take that role very seriously, whether I’m that artist’s manager or product manager at the label. I’ve learned that letting go and embracing bold decisions is when the most exciting, career-building moments can happen.