Jess Glynne talks Grammys, taking control and why women shouldn't be pressured to look a certain way

Jess Glynne has had more UK number one hits (seven) than Beyoncé, Adele or Amy Winehouse, but the song that launched her career (and won a Grammy) was 2014's Rather Be by Clean Bandit, for which she provided lead vocals. "The Grammy represents the beginning of my career," the singer, 30, from north London says. She grew up with her father, Laurence, an estate agent, and her mother, Alexandra, who worked in the music industry. "It urges me to work harder."

How does it feel to have so many number one singles? 

It is a really weird but amazing achievement which I'm so grateful for. I feel as if it would be harder to get a number one single now, or even get into the charts, because of streaming.

Why are people drawn to your music? 

I'm very honest in my lyrics and I think people can relate to that. I also have a hopeful message which makes people feel uplifted.

Second albums are often tricky to make. Was yours?

I went to America for three months after the success of the first album and I tried out loads of different things, but when I came back to England, my label, Atlantic Records, and I found it hard to agree on what worked. So I took a break to do some shows and have time to myself. Towards the end of summer 2017 I said, "I'm ready to get back in, but I want to work with these people and I don't want to be in a studio." I wanted a big house where we could just chill. That meant Sussex. It's important to me that I'm super comfortable around the people I work with.

It seems you don't like being controlled.

It's not a very natural way to make a song for me. I am so envious of songwriters who can jump into any room and just write. I find that hard. I don't write for other people, I write for myself.

You've said in the past that you feel women are pressured to look a certain way. You were recently turned down by a Mayfair restaurant because of the way that you were dressed at the time. Why do you feel like people reacted so strongly to your posts on social media about it?

I wish I never posted it. I think it got so misconstrued. I called it discrimination which was the wrong word and it's a very sensitive time at the moment. I know discrimination is a lot bigger than that. I appreciate I wasn’t dressed appropriately, but the reason I posted my outfit was that I was aware of what I looked like in a tracksuit and I felt as if I was treated accordingly. My point was that as a human being, you shouldn't be disregarded.

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