How Jess Glynne became the first British female solo artist with seven number-ones
In short: Before she was a chart-topping powerhouse, Jess Glynne was working at a fitness centre and a hairdresser's. Her rapid ascent from an East London music course to record-breaking success highlights a unique vocal intensity that once caught the attention of Black Butter Records, setting her on a path to global stardom.
Born in North London in 1989, Jessica Hannah Glynne’s path to music was unconventional. After an early, unsuccessful audition for The X Factor at age 15, she spent her late teens traveling and working various jobs before enrolling at Access to Music London. There, she met key collaborators Jin Jin and Bless Beats. Her breakthrough arrived in 2014, when her vocals on Clean Bandit’s 'Rather Be' and Route 94’s 'My Love' propelled her to the top of the UK charts. These early successes established her as a formidable force in dance-pop, earning her a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
Glynne’s debut album, 'I Cry When I Laugh' (2015), solidified her status, debuting at number one and eventually achieving triple Platinum status. Her follow-up, 'Always In Between' (2018), made history by securing her seventh UK number-one single, 'I'll Be There', marking her as the first British female solo artist to reach that milestone. Her songwriting, influenced by artists like Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse, blends pop, R&B, and soul. Despite her commercial dominance, her career has seen moments of friction, including a brief ban from the Isle of Wight Festival in 2019 and a public apology for using an offensive term in 2021.
In 2022, Glynne parted ways with Atlantic Records to pursue a new sonic direction, eventually signing with EMI. Her third studio album, 'Jess', released in 2024, coincided with her receiving the BRIT Billion Award for surpassing one billion streams in the UK. Throughout her career, Glynne has navigated the pressures of fame, vocal surgery, and label transitions, all while maintaining a consistent output of chart-topping hits. Her journey reflects the complexities of modern pop stardom, where personal experiences—such as the heartbreak that inspired her debut album—are transformed into globally resonant anthems.
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