The rhythm came for Jessie Ware. Once the queen of elegant mid-tempos and Ed Sheeran co-writes, she’s now the shiny glitterball of the disco revival that coincided with Covid, a singer-songwriter who seems to exist in declarative statements. That! Feels Good! exclaims the title of her new album. Her live shows! Now have choreo! Her mic stand! Is also a whip! In the kitchen of her label’s Central London office, the 38-year-old is bright and loud and maternal. “You must! Have a warm drink!”
Ware emanates positivity. Between the club bops and the carefree ease of Table Manners, the hit celebs-eating-round-her-kitchen-island podcast she hosts with her mum, she’s arguably the modern pop star most happy to be there. But didn’t Ware used to be, well, a bit of a misery guts? “You probably thought, ‘Oh, that poor woman…’,” she says, before erupting into a cackle. “What I was doing was not giving enough of myself in my music. But that’s only because I was scared.”
