The singer on turning down X Factor, making mistakes and refusing to play by the rules
Born in London in 1989, Jess Glynne is a singer and songwriter. She shot to fame in 2014, when she featured on two UK No 1 hits, Clean Bandit’s Rather Be, for which she won a Grammy, and My Love by Route 94. She has since released two No 1 albums, and became the first British female solo artist to have seven No 1 singles, including the omnipresent Hold My Hand. She releases Jess, her first album in six years, on 26 April.
I was three and in my house in Muswell Hill when this photograph was taken. I was an opinionated child, so I would have picked this outfit myself, including the shorts. It looks like I’m posing mid-spin; I’d always be singing and dancing around the place. I loved attention and was a real loudmouth. Still am. Mum would be like: “Jess! Would you shut the fuck up?” I was the youngest of a fun, wild, big family. Cheeky and annoying and always winding my sister up. There was no telling me what to do.
