Between her TikTok-dominating new album “Sex Hysteria” and a jaw-dropping Sports Illustrated Swimsuit digital cover shoot, Jessie Murph isn’t just entering pop stardom. The singer-songwriter is bulldozing her way into it with glitter, guts, and a hair donut.
The 20-year-old Alabama native, known for her emotionally raw lyrics and don’t-mess-with-me vocals, flew to Key Biscayne, Florida, to shoot with photographer Derek Kettela for SI Swimsuit’s July digital issue. Decked out in retro swimwear, including a blue and white bikini, teased hair, and enough attitude to power a European tour, Murph looked every bit the rising icon she is.
“This has been a dream,” she told the magazine. “I used to watch the SI covers and think, ‘Maybe one day,’ and now here I am—doing it in my own weird way.”
That “weird way” is exactly what’s gotten her here.
Jessie Murph Is Having That Girl Summer
Murph’s second studio album, “Sex Hysteria,” dropped July 18 and immediately set the internet ablaze. It’s home to the viral hit “Blue Strips,” which she nonchalantly described to Sports Illustrated as “genuinely me just f—ing off” in the studio.
“Some songs just have glitter in them,” she added. “Any time I’d play it, it would make me smile.” That glitter clearly rubbed off, indeed. “Blue Strips” climbed into the Billboard Hot 100 top 15, and even Lana Del Rey gave it a co-sign on Instagram.
Other tracks on Sex Hysteria include “Heroine,” “A Little Too Drunk,” “Touch Me Like a Gangster,” a sultry fan favorite, and collaborations with Gucci Mane (“Donuts”) and Lil Baby (“Best Behavior”).
The album’s chaotic, genre-bending energy mirrors Murph herself. Intense, unfiltered, and impossible to box in. But, it’s her lyrics that have been making waves left and right, especially with her song, “The Man That Came Back.” Murph has been pretty open about her relationship, or rather non-relationship, with her father. In the song, she opened up about the situation a bit more.
“I still remember you blacked out, face down, asleep in your car/ And the violence, the sirens that rang in the dark/ And the last straw, the worst of all, the breaking of my mother’s heart/ Now since December.” She sings. “You’ve shown up, say I’ve grown up/ You just want to see us/ You woke up sober/ Said you found Jesus/ You don’t understand why I still hate the man that came back/ But you can talk to God about that.”
On Instagram, Murph reflected on the album’s meaning, writing, “I’ve seen 15 butterflies in the past two days. Every time I see one, I smile because with every butterfly comes a new blessing… I’m grateful for every single moment that has led up to this album.”
And in true Murph fashion, she added, “Also thank you for a beautiful release party @redbull @saintjamesicedtea. Oh, and that Lana Del Rey posted to ‘Blue Strips’ yesterday, and that’s all that really matters.”
Backstage Rituals, Big Hair Energy & Tour Mode Activated
Murph’s energy doesn’t stop at the microphone; it spills into every part of her life. She told SI that before every show, she insists on fist-bumping everyone in the vicinity. “Like if you’re standing backstage with me and I don’t get a fist-bump, I’m gonna be really weird about it,” she confessed. “I have to do it.”
As for the signature sky-high hair that sends her straight to the clouds? “I normally got like a hair donut in there, and then we’ll just tease it a bunch,” she revealed. The look calls back to Amy Winehouse and Priscilla Presley, to say the least, but make it Gen Z and TikTok-coded to add a little touch.
The singer-songwriter is now getting ready to promote her new work, embarking on her Worldwide Hysteria Tour. The tour will officially launch on July 27 in Phoenix and travel across the U.S., Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Given how fast “Sex Hysteria” caught fire, we can only expect sold-out venues, chaotic crowds, and more jaw-dropping fits than your Pinterest board can handle.
The Jessie Murphy Effect Is Just Beginning
Whether it’s performing in bedazzled vintage gowns, performing at Stagecoach with Koe Wetzel, bringing a literal pig to the ACM red carpet, Murph is rewriting the pop star rulebook. And we’re here for every second. She’s keeping us invested in multiple genres, and she is clearly killing it. Country? She’s got it. Trap? She’s got that too. Pop? Yup, it’s there!
Murph isn’t just a viral moment; she’s a movement. And right now, she’s (literally) fist-bumping the world on her way up. Crazy to think she’s only 20.
‘Sex Hysteria’ – Track Listing
- “Gucci Mane”
- “1965”
- “Couldn’t Be Worse”
- “A Little Too Drunk”
- “Bad as the Rest”
- “Touch Me Like a Gangster”
- “Heroin”
- “I Like How I Look”
- “Ain’t But a Thing”
- “The Man That Came Back”
- “Sex Hysteria”
- “Donuts” (featuring Gucci Mane)
- “Blue Strips”
- “Best Behavior” (featuring Lil Baby)
- “Ur Bill Is Big as F*ck”
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Jessie Murph Stuns on Sports Illustrated Cover After Viral Album Release