Jess Glynne
Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2013 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and "My Love" by Route 94, both of which reached number one in the UK. She was considered one of the "Most Influential People Under 30" by Forbes magazine in 2019.
Jess Glynne
- Singer
- songwriter
2013–present
Vocals
Her debut studio album, I Cry When I Laugh (2015), debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and saw the international success of the singles "Hold My Hand" and "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself".[2] Glynne's second studio album, Always In Between (2018), also debuted at number one in the UK and saw continued success with the singles "I'll Be There", "These Days", "All I Am", "Thursday" and "One Touch"; the first of these made Glynne the first British female solo artist to have seven number one singles on the UK Singles Chart, beating Cheryl with five. Glynne has achieved multiple accolades throughout her career, including a Grammy Award and nine Brit Award nominations.
Early life[edit]
Jessica Hannah Glynne was born in Hampstead[3] and raised in Muswell Hill, North London, in a Jewish family.[4] Her mother, Alexandra (née Ingram), worked in A&R in the music industry.[5][6][7] The family name was originally Goldstein, but her grandfather changed it to Glynne.[6]
She applied for the television show The X Factor when she was 15 years old, but dropped out of the audition process following a disagreement with the producers.[8][9]
She attended Rhodes Avenue Primary School, then attended Fortismere School, where she completed her A-levels in 2008, and took various jobs at a boutique, a fitness centre and a hairdresser's.[6]
After a period spent travelling the world, Glynne worked for a music management company in her late teens and began networking with songwriters and producers, eventually honing her artistry for four years.[6][8]
Career[edit]
2010–2013: Career beginnings[edit]
Glynne completed a month long music course at an East London college, Access to Music London, where she met her future collaborators: songwriter Jin Jin and producer Bless Beats. She also studied in Westminster University.[4][9] One of Glynne and Jin Jin's compositions caught the attention of Black Butter Records, who signed Glynne to a publishing deal and introduced her to music managers and lawyers.[10] Black Butter co-president Joe Gossa said of Glynne, "her voice just flipped me out, there was a fierceness to it. She can talk about everyday things in this way that's just epic".[11] She signed a contract with Atlantic Records in August 2013, consequently leaving her job at the time in brand management for a drinks company.[6]
Artistry[edit]
Glynne's musical influences include Frank Ocean and Amy Winehouse.[50] She cites Adele, Sam Cooke, Destiny's Child, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Etta James as inspirations for her vocal style and rappers such as Eminem, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar for her songwriting.[9] She has also listed India Arie, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Girls Aloud, Mariah Carey and Mavis Staples as musical inspirations.[51][52][53] Glynne said that Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was the album that motivated her to start writing songs.[12]
Personal life[edit]
Glynne was previously in a relationship with a woman, which ended unamicably in 2013.[54] Whilst I Cry When I Laugh was inspired by that particular break-up, she does not want to be labelled a lesbian or bisexual. "I've only ever been with one girl in my life and that's the girl from my album. It was hard at the beginning of the relationship, because until then I had only ever gone out with guys. But I am who I am", she told the Daily Star in August 2015. "I'm never going to put a label on my sexuality and people should never feel uncomfortable about who they love. I pray one day we get to a point where it's no longer a thing."[55]
In an October 2018 interview with Attitude magazine, Glynne said: "[My sexuality] is just not something that I've ever enjoyed talking about because I am a private person, and it's not something that is necessary for people to know. It's not something that I'm scared of, it's just something that I don't entertain in a deep way. I don't like to put myself in a box in anything in my life."[56]
Glynne has been in a relationship with Alex Scott, the sports broadcaster and former England women's footballer, since the summer of 2023.[57]
Headlining
Supporting