A Night Out With Jessie Murph

Jessie Murph has never liked New York, but tonight, she’s in good spirits. Maybe it’s because we’re having sushi for dinner (her favorite), but if I had to guess, it’s probably playing “1965” on The Tonight Show that’s got her smiling from ear to ear. “I was so nervous, but I think it’s my favorite performance I’ve ever done,” the 20-year-old tells NYLON in her sweet Southern lilt.

Right on time for our 7:30 p.m. reservation at The Lobster Club, the singer pulls up in a black Escalade with her photographer in tow, going straight for a hug. Even with her white heels and black bouffant, the teased top of her 4-feet-11-inch height barely reaches my nose.

She’s quick to spill on her Jimmy Fallon experience once we’re seated, gushing over the pink set and her Valentino look, her first time working with a designer. When we talk about it again later, she asks if I want to see the outfit before pulling up a TikTok she filmed strutting down the halls of Studio 6B in a pink lace minidress and white floral tights. “I truly felt like a princess today. It was the funnest. Oh, my God. It was so cool.”

We’ve barely had a chance to look at the menu before Murph suggests we get the omakase, an idea that’s met with immediate enthusiasm from the table. And yet, if it were up to her, we would have taken a nude painting class tonight. A pretty tame suggestion coming from someone who just released an album called Sex Hysteria, but as it turns out, Murph says she’s actually an introvert who doesn’t go out much and is struggling to make friends as an adult. This is news to me given how quickly we’ve clicked, but before I can say anything, she assures me, “It’s definitely been something I’m working on.”

The server interrupts to present a wasabi lobster, and her photographer, who calls Murph her best friend, says, “I feel like we should hit our thing. You want to let her know what it is?”

“Feel free to join or not,” Murph says, “but anytime we eat, we go around the table and say three things we’re grateful for.” Murph lists the meal we’re about to have, coffee, and meeting me, while the photographer echoes her, adding how proud she is of “the performance you just put on.” This tradition comes from when Murph, then 17, was “really going through it.” She read The Secret and started gratitude journaling, which helped her realize how much good was in her life, an understanding that’s now at an all-time high. “I’m feeling a big energetic shift,” she says of her album’s release. “And I truly feel like I’m watching my wildest dreams happen in front of me."

Leaning into the woo-woo, I tell them about my past as an astrology writer, and Murph challenges me to guess her zodiac sign. I rack up some more intel: She’s reserved, more “Type D” than A, and when it comes to relationships, she’s super loyal and loves hard. I venture a guess that she’s a Libra; she’s not, but she makes a face indicating that I’m close, effectively confirming she’s a Virgo. “That gave it away, damn it,” Murph says.

Nine dishes later and we still have room for dessert, so we decide to walk the seven blocks to the nearest Van Leeuwen, meeting a Maltese puppy named Violet along the way. “I love your outfit, hair, everything,” the owner tells Murph, unaware that his dog is nose-to-nose with a famous pop star. “You’re fab.” Further down East 53rd Street, Murph and I get to talking about rom-coms. She just watched You’ve Got Mail for the first time and plans to hit Sleepless in Seattle next. When I tell her I haven’t seen Dirty Dancing, her all-time favorite movie, her face drops. “You have to go home tonight and put that on,” Murph says, completely serious. “We low-key can’t be friends if you don’t like it. It’s gonna change your life.”

In line, Murph announces she’s getting a root beer float, grabbing the attention of a girl ahead of us. “Are you Jessie Murph?” she asks timidly. An emphatic “Yes!” prompts the girl to ask for a selfie, and the singer obliges, making sure to catch the young fan’s name before parting ways.

We sit down with our desserts, and the once-energetic Murph is now moving at a much slower pace. Her fake-eyelash-covered lids heavy, she surveys the group on whether or not she should sleep in her makeup tonight so she can be ready for an early-morning meeting. “Somebody told me Lana Del Rey used to have people come over and do her glam at night,” she says. After weighing the pros (she won’t have to spend two hours in glam) and cons (she has no idea how it’ll look), Murph decides to roll the dice and live in her Priscilla Presley-esque getup for one more night. We say our goodbyes just in time for Murph to collect the bonnet she had delivered to her hotel — the glamour of being a pop star.

Photographs by Claire Schmitt