Spotlight on: Jessie Ware
Jessie Ware is hot property right now, a new musical talent on the rise, she is turning heads everywhere she goes with her incredible vocals and glamourous style.
Having released her debut single "110%" back in February, Jessie has been gathering fans at a rate of knots ever since. She supported one of our favourite new artists, Lianne La Havas, in March, before releasing two further singles: "Running" and "Wildest Moments". Now she is preparing to launch her debut album "Devotion" on 20 August.
The South London singer emerged from the UK underground this year, after having worked with some of the biggest electro producers around, including the omnipotent SBTRKT. However, she didn't always know she was going to be a singer on a professional basis.
Jessie Ware once planned on being a football journalist, but then gave that up to become a backing singer for a friend. After that she considered giving up performing all together and going to law school. Fortunately, Jessie met the right people at the right time and her burgeoning music career fell into place. Now she's supporting Plan B, playing some of Europe's biggest festivals and garnering support from fans and critics alike, wherever she goes.
Inspired by legendary vocalists such as Whitney Housten, Barbara Streisand and Beyoncé, Jessie Ware's sound has a classic feel to it, with a modern, London twist.
She wanted her album to sound "effeminate and romantic", according to an interview with "Pitchfork", and it seems that she has more than succeeded. Jessie's sound is full of R&B, soul, dance and hip hop influences, things she grew up listening to and which suit her smooth, clear-cut voice down to the ground.
Jessie's extremely glamourous style also has a lot of retro influences. The 27-year-old might be pretty new on the block, but she already has 'diva' written all over her.
Judging by the artwork for her releases, and the sleek videos she has produced so far, Jessie is one smooth operator. Her sleek, dark hair is often swept up into an intricate chignon, a style which shows off her classic make-up. Jessie Ware has commandeered the cat-eye look, often matching it with smokey eyeshadow and red lipstick. Her glamourpuss tendencies don't stop there. She is always well bronzed and likes to adorn her outfits with bold statement earrings and gold jewellery. Whitney would be proud.
Jessie Ware is one of the most exciting British artists of the year and we can't wait to hear her debut album.
