L'OFFICIEL sat down with the British singer to discuss her album What's Your Pleasure, her song in the Chanel show, and her Table Manners podcast.

From the first moment of my Zoom call with <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/jessie-ware-on-constructing-her-new-album-glasshouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jessie Ware</a>, on the other side of the world, her charismatic personality crosses the screen and hooks me (declaring herself a fan of L'OFFlCIEL's editorials in the first few minutes didn't hurt either). The first time I heard her magnetic voice singing "Spotlight" at the closing of the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/chanel-last-show-grand-palais-renovation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chanel Spring/Summer 2021 show</a> there was no turning back: her music envelops you in a euphoric sensory journey that makes you want to lose yourself on a dance floor among strangers, a feeling intoxicating that now seems far away.
The British singer presented What's Your Pleasure, in 2020, her fourth album after Devotion (2012), Tough Love (2014), and Glasshouse (2017). And now it presents the deluxe edition of an album whose sound could fit as well in the seventies or eighties as it does now due to its nostalgic and electrifying notes that emerge as the perfect escape in a time where there really are not many places to go.&nbsp;Ware plays on the collective yearning for human touch and touch with a velvety voice and seductive arrangements, making things better for just a moment.
Yet music is only a small fraction of everything the multi-faceted singer has to say: in 2017 she ventured into exploring other creative formats with the launch of her Table Manners podcast, where, along with her mother Lennie. Endless celebrities have made an obligatory stop to talk about life accompanied by a good bottle of wine and a homemade dinner. In addition to this, the artist is preparing for the launch of a new book next June: Omelette, a compilation of fragments of her life, love (and a lot of humor). And so, with a lot to ask her, our conversation begins: 
Lorena Meouchi: First, I would like to know what is your earliest memory of music?
Jessie Ware: I remember long drives in the car with my mom where we played records. One of them was from Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, The Bodyguard soundtrack, and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/international-dance-day-2021-fashion-films-ballet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dirty Dancing</a>. And also my mom played <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/black-pumas-eric-burton-colors-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soul music</a> by Dusty Springfield and also <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/iconic-throwback-photos-of-young-barbra-streisand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbra Streisand</a>, Stevie Wonder. But it was also a process of personal discovery because when I was almost a teenager I was in a record store and I found Brown Sugar By D'Angelo and it was like wow! Likewise, I was very inspired by jazz artists and that shaped the way I sing. 
LM: So your mom loved music.
JW: Right, and whenever we went on vacation I would make compilations of songs for the family with a very strange mix of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/jennifer-lopez-alex-rodriguez-announce-breakup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JLo</a> and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/stevie-nicks-fashion-fleetwood-mac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fleetwood Mac</a>, they weren't perfectly curated but I loved it and we had music in the house all the time. 
LM: And how did you jump into music?
JW: I sang in school, but only in plays. And I would watch MTV and say, "I can't be a singer, they are popstars." But I was very lucky, a friend asked me to sing as a backup singer. We went to school together, so he knew that I sang and invited me to go to festivals with him and go to the United States. I was supposed to start with the law and become a lawyer. 
LM: Wow, a lawyer!
JW: I know! And then I thought it was a good opportunity to make memories and leave the law for the following year. My mom pushed me a lot, she told me "Do it, sing for a year, and have fun," and through that, I got my own contract. I have been very lucky and I have met very generous people who have believed in my voice, almost more than I believed in it. 
LM: Do you think that to be a good musician you only need the talent or to be surrounded by the right people at the right time?
JW: Definitely that last thing is the most important, and I think that I have not always been surrounded by the right people, but I have managed to solve it. Although you also have to have thick skin and be very authentic. I think there is a lot of pressure right now for musicians to be all these different things. With social media, you have to be very good at <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/high-fashion-designers-tiktok-gen-z-charli-damelio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a>, on Instagram, have a lot of followers. There are many responsibilities in being an artist that are no longer just making good music. You almost have to be the product manager, publicist&hellip; and that can be very overwhelming for new artists.

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LM: How would you describe your evolution as an artist with this latest album?
JW: I think I started out terrified and shy, even though I'm very confident socially. And I depended a lot on other people to take me because I felt like if I opened up too much with people and it didn't work out ... I wasn't ready for that kind of rejection. And people could see through it. And the podcast (Table Manners) was a great tool for that, but accidentally, it wasn't supposed to help my music career. In fact the opposite, but that helped people to understand my personality much better and it was something that they might not have been able to do with my music. And that helped me with my last album because I took more risks and showed more of my personality. 
LM: Who would be the guest of your dreams on the podcast?
JW: <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/iconic-throwback-photos-of-young-barbra-streisand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbra Streisand</a> we would love to. But we've had a lot of dream guests, we had <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/reasons-to-love-dolly-parton-music-philanthropy-fashion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dolly Parton</a>, that was amazing. We would like to have <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/men/obama-nike-hyperdunk-sneakers-price" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barack Obama</a> and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/michelle-obama-fashion-independent-american-designers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michelle Obama</a>, it would be very nice to have them together, but we would have either one, to be honest. I think the amazing thing about how we have podcasts during the pandemic in the last year is that we have been able to access more international stars. You know? Dolly Parton could never have come to my mom's for dinner, but we were able to zoom in and it worked. <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/exclusive-pop-star-dua-lipa-welcomes-us-on-stage-to-attend-her-rehearsals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dua Lipa</a> probably wouldn't have time to come to dinner for two hours either, but we did it the same way. We have had many incredible guests, now I believe that anything is possible. But the best thing is when we cook for them, that's the most fun. 
LM: What if you could have a historical figure?
JW: Hey! <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/art/frida-kahlo-exhibit-v-and-a-museum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frida Kahlo</a> would be amazing, right? Although I don't know if having Diego Rivera and Frida in the same room would be the best. And also Nelson Mandela, my mom and I would love it. 
LM: About your new book Omelette, I find it interesting that you said before that you were shy and scared.
JW: And now I share it all! In a very strange way, this suits me and the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/the-best-podcasts-to-listen-to-during-quarantine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a> better than singing to a certain extent. I don't know if I can always put my personality or a personal moment in a song like I can in writing or podcasting. 
LM: Also because you have more space than with a two-minute song
JW: Look, there are people who can. Bob Dylan probably can, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/celebrities-who-are-artists-national-art-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joni Mitchell</a>, or <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/is-dolly-parton-a-feminist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dolly Parton</a> and they all seem to do very well. But I'm not there yet. 
LM: Your music has a very particular effervescent sound. When you make songs, what goes through your head first? The melody or the lyrics?
JW: With this particular album it was almost like going back to when I had no albums. For this new album, the first thing was to have the rhythm and the bass well, before putting the melody to it. That was somewhat different from how I did the previous albums. And then I sang about it and found the mood that I wanted. 
LM: Did you know that the first time I heard one of your songs and this particular album was at the Chanel Spring/Summer 2021 show?
JW: Where the hell have you been?! 
LM: I don't know!
JW: Listen, the world of fashion has always been very good to me, but this album did something. Michelle Gobert put me at the end of the Chanel show, and it was a great honor. I watched the live stream and couldn't create it. And those things that you might take for granted open you up to new worlds and countries. And the fact that I go on my fourth album and you have discovered me like that is something incredible. 
LM: Totally, because I was also covering the event for work and I ended up meeting you.
JW: No and look, that show was a declaration that I had made it, you know? I have never been to Chanel shows, in fact, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/remembering-karl-lagerfeld" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karl Lagerfeld</a> was always very nice to me, but that was a great moment for me and I felt ready for it. It was too bad I couldn't go, that may have been my time to sing at a Chanel show! I may never have the chance again.

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Saturday or Sunday? Saturday (Sundays get me down).
Infallible drink? Dirty martini.
Red or white wine?&nbsp;A medicinal glass of red wine every now and then (because I'm pregnant).
Style Icon? Bianca Jagger or Tilda Swinton.
Fashion brand? Bottega Venetta.
Most valuable fashion piece? A vintage bag from YSL.

Jessie Ware Talks Music, Life, and Chanel

L'OFFICIEL USA December 2024 - Julianne Moore Cover

Jessie Ware Talks Music, Life, and Chanel

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