Jess Glynne: Rather Be singer reveals she almost quit music career due to criticism

Jess Glynne has revealed she contemplated leaving the music industry amid a barrage of online criticism that took a toll on her mental health. The 34-year-old 'Rather Be' hitmaker said she has faced relentless scrutiny and exhausting effort required, admitting grappling with the thought of abandoning her career.

Speaking to The Independent in an interview, she said: “The amount that I’ve put in and the self-belief and the fight and the battles (I’ve gone through with) myself and with people around me to get to where I am, I was like: ‘Nah man, you can’t throw it all away.'"

Now, returning after a hiatus with her latest album, 'Jess', she hopes to shed light on her true self, expressing a desire to be understood by her audience.

She told the outlet: “I feel like I have been misunderstood and I think that’s something that I don’t want to continue in my career,” the 34-year-old musician reflects. She added: “I want people to listen to my records and understand where they’ve come from, and understand the person that I am.”

The 'Hold My Hand' singer also revealed she was "terrified" at one stage when she was all alone after leaving Atlantic Records. She recalled: “I was absolutely terrified. I was like: ‘Oh my God, what have I done?’ Massive moments of doubt, massive moments of fear because I was all alone. I’d no-one in my career supporting me at that point.”

She has since signed to EMI, and is now managed under Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. She also admitted the only way she could move forward with her music career was by being unapologetically herself.

Speaking about the track 'Enough', she said: “When I wrote that song, I think it was just highlighting, this is me being me unapologetic and being honest and being raw and I think that’s just how I need to lead. And to stop pressuring myself to be this artist or be that artist or regurgitate a song like this or be something from our past, I need to look forward and be me now…

“Through the process of leaving my previous label, my previous teams and everything that’s gone on in my personal life as well, the more that time’s gone on and things have happened, and the more that I’ve been challenged… the only thing I can do when I go in the studio and when I write is be me. And I think that’s why I called it Jess.”