As a child she sat in her bedroom listening to Whitney Houston, then recording herself singing the songs, but at her comprehensive school, Fortismere in Muswell Hill, attempts to try out for anything music-related were unsuccessful. Both are known for their powerful, soulful voices and their songs share a certain tough-but-vulnerable rawness. Glynne celebrated in style: ‘We ended up at Sam Smith’s party, at his house in the Hollywood Hills. This is the saddest vanilla that I've ever tasted The saddest vanilla but I don't wanna waste it Sat at an ice cream parlour You went and broke my heart yeah Now I'm the saddest vanilla. A standout track is ‘Saddest Vanilla’, written with Emeli Sandé and produced by Naughty Boy. ‘That was one of my favourite sessions. So, what did we do? ‘Emeli was amazing to talk to. The three of us went out for food and were just talking for hours about life. {{#singleComment}}{{value}} Comment{{/singleComment}}{{^singleComment}}{{value}} Comments{{/singleComment}} She struck up a rapport with fellow student Jin Jin (Janée Bennett) and the pair began writing together. ‘She was such an important figure in me getting to where I am. Everyone was there, and everyone was drinking — Charli XCX, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Rita [Ora]…’ She’s not about to spill any party secrets, but suffice to say it was ‘a great night.
When she was in her early teens, Glynne’s parents returned from an evening in Soho with a signed copy of the late singer’s debut album Frank, having watched her perform. Instead, it mixes the house-flavoured pop with which Glynne made her name with reflective moments of songcraft. ‘You’re like, “Everyone else is fine… and I’m sitting here having a panic attack!” But you talk to them and we all go through it. It was the first girl I’d ever fallen in love with.’ She stops, surprised by her own candour. In the past year Jess Glynne has topped the charts three times.
Saddest Vanilla You're giving me right, You're giving me wrong. 30 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7LA Shorts, £574, Vionnet. Are you sat in an ice cream parlour with Jess Glynne and Emeli Sandé right now?In fact, the singer holds an incredible feat having claimed FIVE (!) number one singles before her album even came out, matching Cheryl 'Cole' 'Tweedy' Fernandez-Versini record for the most number one singles by a British female solo artist. I wake up every day doing something completely different from the last.’ Which is not to say she’d have it any other way. In the past 12 months she’s repeatedly topped the charts thanks to a string of hit collaborations, including ‘My Love’, with house producer Route 94, and ‘Real Love’ and ‘Rather Be’ with classical-dance quartet Clean Bandit. After the Brits, she tells me, she attended the Warner Music party at Freemasons’ Hall in Covent Garden, at which Ed Sheeran was photographed looking more than a little the worse for wear. ‘It’s not an easy life to live but I would never change it.’You can find our Community Guidelines in full Jess Glynne: ‘I don’t know what I want now — to be with a guy, with a girl, be with anyone’ Having just returned from California, where she was performing at Coachella, she’s still jet-lagged and is slugging coffee. Picture: Peter PedonomouSuede trench coat, £3,995, Burberry Prorsum. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? You just binge…’ Eventually, she sought help from a psychotherapist, who, she says, ‘mentally got me in a place where I felt I could map my life out’.It wasn’t until she enrolled in a year-long course at the British Academy of New Music in Bromley-by-Bow that her dreams of being a professional musician began to take shape. You might not recognise her face (yet) but you’ll almost certainly know the throaty timbre of her voice. ‘It was a relationship that was so new to me.
‘I don’t know what I want now — to be with a guy, with a girl, be with anyone.’ For the moment, she’s relishing her independence. Cropped top, £310, 3.1 Phillip Lim. She really helped me see a different perspective. It was a bittersweet moment — professionally exciting, personally tumultuous. This got us thinking about what exactly a 'saddest vanilla' was and whether we were the saddest vanilla. However, it didn't escape our attention that on Jess' album there's a song called "Saddest Vanilla" featuring Emeli Sandé that was produced by everyone's favourite trouble maker Naughty Boy. You're selling me something that I'll never own. I needed some sort of structure in my life.’ Too anxious to take drugs (‘I’m scared that I’ll die’), she turned to alcohol. The last, released in January 2014, was one of the fastest-selling singles of the year, soundtracked an M&S food-porn ad and was named Best Dance Recording at the Grammys this Feb-ruary. ‘Although, to begin with, when she first came out, I thought: “I’m f***ed — another North London Jew with similar influences,” ’ says Glynne.She needn’t have worried. Top, POA, Christian Dior. You're giving me right, You're giving me wrong / You're selling me something that I'll never own / You're giving me hope, You're leaving me cold ‘I’ve never said that to anyone…’ she says, before ploughing on. She’s obviously gone through a lot,’ she says of the singer whose own debut-album success story was followed by divorce.