Singer Jess Glynne has teased new single Silly Me as she returned to music following an emotional journey that began after the loss of a friend.
The singer-songwriter, 33, who had seven number ones in the UK including Hold My Hand in 2015 and I’ll Be There in 2018, said she has not been doing a project on her “own” during the last few years due to feeling “lost”.
Her previous albums – I Cry When I Laugh in 2015 and Always In Between in 2018 – hit the top of the charts.
On Monday, Glynne wrote in an Instagram post: “I want to re-introduce myself. It has been a while, a lot of time has passed and a lot has changed.
“In 2021 I lost a friend in a really tragic way and it has changed the way I see and feel life. I was deeply unhappy and I was so lost in my career and I felt trapped by people who didn’t believe in me during such a sensitive time.
“I made a decision to walk away from all that negativity and start again because I saw how short life is and how important it is to look after you.
“This was probably one of the toughest, scariest things I have ever done and at the time I had no idea how it would work out but I had to put my happiness and my mental health first no matter what.
“These past (three) years have been the most trialling on me emotionally and physically but I feel as though they have made me the best version of myself.
“I was out in LA alone pushing through and I was finally inspired by the journey I had been on and the path in front wasn’t so scary. I began writing again with new people.”
Since not doing her own project in the last few years, Glynne has collaborated with Jax Jones on One Touch in 2019 which reached number 19 in the UK charts and electronic music duo Snakehips on Lie For You in 2020.
She added: “I am so lucky to finally be surrounded by such excited, caring people who allow me to be my authentic self. I hope this album holds your hand and this side of me is the Jess I want you to get to know.”
A few years ago, Glynne finished supporting the Spice Girls on their reunion tour and had cancelled a string of her own dates last year due to exhaustion.
The singer revealed she had suffered a vocal haemorrhage, and doctors warned her she could damage her voice permanently if she did not take time off.
In a video, also released on Monday, the Grammy-winning artist said: “I haven’t done a project of my own for five years. How much I’ve changed in that period of time, how much my life has changed.
“I’ve really come to a place in my life where I feel so incredibly content with the woman I am today. The fear and the doubt just disappears.”
Her career took off after 2014 number one collaborations with electronic music group Clean Bandit on Rather Be and record producer Route 94 with My Love.
She also said: “I was a real big mess when I was 21. I was a sad human. It’s fine though, I got passed it, I’m happy now. When I was 21, I had one of those moments of despair.”
Jess Glynne’s new single Silly Me will be out this Friday.