JESS GLYNNE No1 star was ready to quit
Star Jess on mad workload that nearly made her quit
CLASHES with her label, the pressure of becoming a huge star, fears for her voice and low self-esteem almost burnt Jess Glynne out.
But rather than going through with her thoughts about quitting last year, she re-balanced her life – which has allowed her to remain still one of the UK’s top acts and be a normal single girl.
She laughed: “I love going out and having a drink I will never deprive myself of a good time. I don’t think that’s fair. “But it’s like as and when. “I also love chilling as well. I like to have a good balance. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to go out now knowing I had a gig.”
The 29-year-old from London has seven UK No1 singles – making her the British female solo artist with the most charttoppers.
Since she sang on Clean Bandit’s No1 song Rather Be in 2014 she’s had a further six No1 singles of her own such as Hold My Hand and her most recent chart topper I’ll Be There, as well as singing to the top with Route 94, Tinie Tempah and Rudimental.
She’s currently No1 with her second album, Always in Between – which followed her 2015 debut, I Cry When I Laugh, to the top of the UK albums charts.
That was the year she had to have a second operation of strained vocal chords. Riding the crest of a very quick and high wave, Jess agreed to do more shows that she should have and last year, as she started the process of recording her second album, she very nearly walked away.
She admitted: “There was a point when it was so crazy and I was like, ‘Woah’. You do lose yourself a little bit.
“I got so ill from it (over working). I wouldn’t want to go back to it. Having to have an operation on your voice is not fun.
“I never want to go back there so I’ve made sure my schedule will never override my health again.
“We sent my doctor my schedule and he was like, ‘This is a joke. You want to keep your voice? You won’t be having a voice if you carry on like that’.
“If you’re not a singer or somebody who uses their voice like that, you’re never going to know the strain that you put on it.
“I do understand why the label didn’t understand from that point of view at first and put all that stuff in because they thought it was exciting and amazing.”
So there were photo shoots and European tours and promos to go on. As it has done ever since Elvis first shook those hips, it looks glamorous from the outside but, when you have no time for yourself, it becomes mentally problematic, especially when Jess became self-critical of her looks.
The flame-haired singer explained: “I think there was a lot of time for me where I felt like I was pressured to wear make-up, I was pressured to be a certain way or I felt madly insecure for how I was and who I was and it takes a moment for you to step back and be like, ‘You idiot, be you.’
“I think social media and the way the industry is these days, it makes you question and judge yourself so much more than you ever should or did before.
“And I think it’s important, especially for younger generations to understand that you don’t need to wear make-up to cover up, you need to be something you’re not, you don’t need to worry if what you’re wearing
I’m in a good place. A much better place, now. Yeah, I feel good JESS
isn’t right compared to someone else. As long as you are happy, that’s what’s important.”
Jess’ has also come to better terms with her mental health. She now admits she was a “mouthy” teen who hid her insecurities by being overly confident.
At 15, she dropped out of The X Factor after a disagreement with producers and now understands her confidence was a mask.
She said: “I reckon sometimes you’re over confident when you’re insecure. And I think sometimes when you feel out of place in a situation, you run your mouth a bit, just to make yourself look a bit bigger than you are. And I guess I used to do that a bit.”
She’s still worried about is her voice – and protecting it after having operations on her vocal chords in 2009 and 2015. She fears if she has to have a third operation, she may never sing again.
But spending most of 2017 hanging out with her family or friends has reinvigorated Jess. As has a new regime looking after her vocal cords. She drinks a lot of water. And she won’t do too many shows in a row.
“I’m very aware that my voice is sensitive,” she explained.
“Anyone who’s had a major procedure has to be careful of the wound, so I’m aware. My voice is fine. I just need to look after it.”
She has a plastic tube in her bag which she uses to warm up her voice before she sings. She puts it in water and does her exercises by blowing through it.
As well as using it before gigs, she also gives it a go if she’s doing lots of press interviews.
On Friday, Jess plays the SSE Arena, at Wembley in London, and next month her new regime will be tested for the first time when she spends much of the month on tour in the UK – kicking off at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on November 15,
She said: “I think it’s really important to allow yourself time. When you’re on the road, it’s easy to get carried away with everything and everyone.
“It’s important waking up in the morning and having your time. Going to bed at night and having your time.
“I’m in a good place. I’m in a much better place now. Yeah. I feel good.
“I’m pretty mentally stable. So long as I make time for myself and look after my body.” Jess’ first album dealt with the break-up of a three year-relationship with a woman. Nowadays she refuses to be pigeonholed and claims she’s “voluntarily single”.
She said: “I’m in a really good place in myself and whoever comes along and steals my heart, I don’t know who that will be.”
It could be a guy or a girl but she said: “I don’t feel like it’s somebody’s business to care or have an opinion really because it’s not your life, it’s mine.
“At the beginning people are like, ‘Yeah but are you gay or are you straight?’ And it used to really play on my mind.
“I guess it would be quite annoying because I’ve never had to justify myself to anybody. But obviously, people want to know, they’re like, ‘Are you with a guy or with a girl, what’s the deal?’ And it’s like, well, I don’t care.
“And that’s another thing that I’ve just learned to accept – that it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to be one way or another, you can be whoever you want to be and be in love with whoever you want to be in love with.”
Jess plays The SSE Hydro, Glasgow on November 15. Tickets from ticketmaster.co.uk