Jess Glynne has revealed that she once refused to give one of her songs to Rihanna in a new interview.
The ‘Rather Be’ singer recently spoke with You magazine about a variety of topics, including one instance where Glynne was approached by Roc Nation co-founder and vice chairperson Jay Brown on whether her song, ‘Promise Me’, a ballad co-written with super-producer Greg Kurstin, could be used by Rihanna.
“I said, ‘No, you’re not sending it to Rihanna.’ I mean, it was the biggest compliment, but I was like, ‘It’s my song, and I’m an artist, too’,” Glynne recounted.
She later expressed that conflicts between her and her label’s interests eventually pushed her to fire her management team. Recalling a meeting where they discussed sending her song to Rihanna, Glynne said: “I left that meeting and thought, ‘Who’s to say I can’t fire my team?’” She would later go on to sign with Roc Nation, and stated that she eventually met Jay Z and Beyoncé personally, calling them “very humble human beings, sweet, charming”.
She added that she was proud of her own tenacity, stating: “I’m like, “You did all of that on your own. You took all those meetings. You flew yourself out there.” I want other women and young girls to be empowered by the decisions they make.
The interview follows three singles which Glynne released this year, namely ‘Silly Me’ in April, ‘What Do You Do’ in July, and most recently, ‘Friend Of Mine’ in October. According to the You article, these singles serve to preview Glynne’s upcoming third full-length album, which is slated to be released in 2024.
In October, Glynne performed ‘Promise Me’ for the first time at a showcase exclusively for fans at The Hawley Arms in Camden, which was famously Amy Winehouse’s favourite pub.
In 2020, Jess Glynne was announced for the 2021 Isle of Wight Festival, despite being given a “lifetime ban” from the festival in 2019 by organiser John Giddings. That year, the singer pulled out from the festival mere moments before it was scheduled to begin. While Glynne attributed her sudden withdrawal to exhaustion and anxiety, she was spotted partying with the Spice Girls until 7AM the previous night.
Later in 2020, Glynne was criticised for claiming she faced “pure discrimination” when she was turned away from a restaurant for dressing inappropriately. She later took back these comments in a live stream on Instagram, stating that she used the “wrong word”. In 2021, she once again faced criticism for using transphobic slurs in an interview on Mo Gilligan’s podcast, for which she later apologised.