Jess Glynne Once Refused To Give One of Her Songs to Rihanna: “I’m An Artist, Too”

A 2022 meeting with the vice chairman of Roc Nation led singer/songwriter Jess Glynne to fire her management team. That year, Jay Brown—who co-founded the entertainment company with Jay-Z—met with Glynne to discuss her ballad “Promise Me,” which he liked for Rihanna.

In an interview with The Daily Mail, Glynne recalled, “I said, ‘No, you’re not sending it to Rihanna.’ I mean, it was the biggest compliment, but I was, ‘It’s my song, and I’m an artist, too.’” According to Glynne, she and Brown talked for hours, discussing a possible working relationship. “I left that meeting and thought, ‘Who’s to say I can’t fire my team?’” she said.

A personal tragedy sealed the decision for Glynne. She had lost a close friend earlier in 2022, and went back to London with renewed purpose. “Choose what makes you happy,” she said. “Be true to yourself. Life is precious. That’s when I knew I had to let go of my team. My friend was very spiritual—she would have understood what I needed. I thought, ‘Do this, Jess, and make your friend proud.’”

Lynne fired her management team and label; she is now managed by Roc Nation and records on the EMI label. She described the people at the label as “amazing women—it’s, ‘Come on Jess, let’s frickin’ ‘ave it!’ We all wanna win, together.”

Glynne recently released three singles from her forthcoming third album, due in 2024; “Friend of Mine,” “Silly Me,” and “What Do You Do?” are all expected to be featured on the new LP. She also performed “Promise Me” live for the first time in the UK at The Hawley Arms in Camden, where her contemporary Amy Winehouse famously frequented. The exclusive October showcase featured Glynne backed by a single piano, scaling down her usual powerhouse vocals into something softer and more emotional.

“I feel very proud of myself,” she said. “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.”

Photo by Cameron Smith/Getty Images for Bauer Media