Jess Glynne

Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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 signed a contract with Atlantic Records in August 2013, consequently leaving her job at the time in brand management for a drinks company.

In 2013, deep house producer Route 94 approached Glynne about rewriting and providing vocals for his song "My Love".

It was later released as a single in February 2014 and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.

It was later certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.

British band Clean Bandit heard "My Love" and approached Glynne to feature on their song "Rather Be".

Band member Jack Patterson spoke of "a real subtlety of emotion in her voice".

The collaboration produced the single which also charted atop the UK charts, becoming the third fastest-selling single and most streamed song of 2014.

The single attained number one and top five positions on charts across Europe and Oceania, and was a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Both "Rather Be" and "My Love" received nominations at the BRIT Awards for Best British Single.

For her work on "Rather Be", Glynne won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording and was nominated for Song of the Year at the inaugural BBC Music Awards.

In July 2014, Glynne's debut solo single, the Gorgon City-produced "Right Here", was released.

It charted in several countries, including at number six in the UK.

Glynne appeared at many British music festivals during mid 2014, including Bestival, Glastonbury, Lovebox, V Festival and Wireless.

She toured around the UK from October 2014, beginning in Sheffield and finishing at the Electric Brixton in London.

Also during 2014, Glynne collaborated on songwriting projects with Little Mix, MO, Rudimental, and Tinie Tempah.

A second collaboration with Clean Bandit, "Real Love", was released in November 2014 and reached number two in the UK.

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".

Glynne's second solo single, "Hold My Hand", was released in March 2015.

It debuted at number one in the UK, where it spent three weeks.

In June 2015, Glynne was featured on "Not Letting Go", a single by English rapper Tinie Tempah.

It also reached number one in the UK, bringing Glynne's total of UK number one singles to four.

She underwent surgery on her vocal cords in mid-2015 and consequently cancelled several live performances, including the Glastonbury Festival.

Glynne's debut album I Cry When I Laugh was released in the UK in August 2015, following the number one single "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself".

It features contributions from Knox Brown, Naughty Boy, Starsmith, Talay Riley, and Switch, as well as her regular collaborators Bless Beats and Jin Jin.

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.

Jessica Hannah Glynne was born in Hampstead and raised in Muswell Hill, North London, in a Jewish family.

Her mother, Alexandra (née Ingram), worked in A&R in the music industry.

The family name was originally Goldstein, but her grandfather changed it to Glynne.

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.

She was considered one of the "Most Influential People Under 30" by Forbes magazine in 2019.