British singer Jade Thirlwall has contacted American media personality Kylie Jenner to thank her after the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Culver City, California, turned her 2024 solo single Angel Of My Dreams into a viral hit.
Jenner walked the catwalk at last week's runway spectacle on Sunday wearing the brand's signature angel wings and a gemstone-encrusted $50 million (£38 million) Fantasy Bra while Thirlwall's debut solo track played over the sound system.
Video of the runway walk quickly spread across social media, driving a steep rise in United States streaming numbers after thousands of fans recreated the moment on the short-form video platform TikTok.
On the audio streaming service Spotify, Angel Of My Dreams recorded a 4,300 per cent global increase in plays, while overall global streams for Thirlwall, who releases solo music under the mononym JADE, climbed by 760 per cent.
Jade Thirlwall reaction and Rolling Stone interview
Speaking after the sudden chart resurgence, Thirlwall said she had already sent a message of gratitude to Jenner and planned to send gifts to both the reality television star and the organisers of the fashion event. "I've reached out and just said thank you. I'm gonna have to send her something and the Victoria's Secret team," she said.
In an interview with the American music magazine Rolling Stone, the singer admitted that the delayed explosion in popularity for her two-year-old single still had not registered. "I feel like it still hasn't sunk in yet. What's going on? I feel like every artist dreams of your song taking off," she told the publication, adding that when Angel Of My Dreams first came out two years ago, "in my head, it was a worldwide smash."
Thirlwall explained that she had previously accepted the song's initial commercial performance because of the strong reviews it received from music critics upon release. "It got the reviews and the credibility it deserved, and it got a lot of attention at the time and a lot of respect as a pop song. And at the time, I was like, OK, well, that's enough for me," she said.
She added: "With what the song's about, I was like, no, I'm at peace with that amount of success for this, even though in my head I thought it deserved more."
TikTok videos and London Underground post
The performer first broke her silence on the Victoria's Secret runway placement while commuting across the British capital on the London Underground. Looking around the train carriage, she wrote: "Nobody on this tube knows that my debut single was playing while Kylie Jenner wore the fantasy bra at the VS fashion show."
Throughout last week, Thirlwall shared several TikTok videos celebrating the track's unexpected second life. In one clip, she wore a Newcastle United football shirt and joked that she was the "angel of the north", a reference to both the Victoria's Secret Angels and the Angel of the North, the landmark steel winged sculpture by Antony Gormley standing in Gateshead near her hometown of South Shields in north-east England.
In another video, a panicked-looking Thirlwall joked about her sudden change of plans, telling followers she was busy "promoting my debut single from two years ago because it got played at the VS fashion show".
From Little Mix to solo BRIT Award winner
Released in July 2024, Angel Of My Dreams was Thirlwall's debut solo single and reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart, compiled by the Official Charts Company. In the chorus played during Jenner's catwalk appearance, Thirlwall sings: "Angel of my dreams / I will always love you and hate you, it's not fair / It's so bittersweet / I will always want you and need you, you don't care / You don't."
Thirlwall first rose to fame in the United Kingdom in 2011 on the television singing competition The X Factor, where she formed the girl group Little Mix with Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson. The group became the first band to win the show and went on to become one of the best-selling girl groups in chart history before starting a hiatus in 2022 so its members could pursue individual projects.
After launching her solo career with Angel Of My Dreams in 2024, Thirlwall won Best Pop Act at the 2025 BRIT Awards, the British Phonographic Industry's annual music awards ceremony, and released her debut solo album, That's Showbiz, Baby!, last year.
Kylie Jenner Fantasy Bra controversy and runway history
While the Culver City broadcast delivered a streaming windfall for Thirlwall, Jenner's turn in the $50 million (£38 million) Fantasy Bra drew backlash from some viewers. Critics called for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show to be cancelled after the television personality and Kylie Cosmetics founder was selected to wear the show's centrepiece garment.
First staged in 1995 by the American lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret, the fashion show has traditionally reserved the jewel-encrusted Fantasy Bra for veteran runway models who have already paid their dues on the catwalk as contracted brand ambassadors known as Angels. By walking in the piece on Sunday, Jenner became the first non-Angel to wear the bra on the runway.
Past supermodels who have worn the Fantasy Bra include Brazilian models Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio, German model Heidi Klum, American model Tyra Banks and South African model Candice Swanepoel.
As the viral trend continues, Thirlwall said she is working to give Angel Of My Dreams "its well deserved moment" while remaining in the studio, adding that she is busy "writing new music at the same time".
