Jess Glynne has opened up about the dark times that almost made her quit music for good, and how she found her voice again after a five-year break.
The pop star, who is back with new music, revealed she was “deeply unhappy” and “questioned everything” after facing a vicious backlash for using a transphobic slur in 2021.
The singer, who had just finished a gruelling world tour that left her exhausted and hospitalised, told the Telegraph she felt like “the world caved in on me” when she received death threats and abuse online.
She said she deleted her social media accounts and avoided the public eye for “a year or two” after apologising for her “unacceptable” remarks, which she said were meant to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community she belongs to and loves.
Glynne, 34, also shared the pain of losing her grandmother and a close friend, which made her “scared to go back into the studio” and “fall in and out of love with music”.
The singer, who has seven UK number ones under her belt, said she regained her confidence and freedom after signing to Jay Z’s Roc Nation label in 2022, following years of being told what to do, wear and say by her previous record company.
The London-born star, who is dating TV presenter and former England footballer Alex Scott, said she has always been open about her sexuality and believes that “love is love”.
She said she has dated both men and women, and that her relationships are “a massive side of my life”.
Glynne is gearing up to release her first single in five years, called Enough, which she said is a “powerful” and “empowering” song about self-love and acceptance.
She said she is almost done with her third album, which she wants to be “a story about vulnerability and power, being brave, showing all sides to who I am”.
She added: “I want it to be unapologetic.”