# Jessie Ware
**Jessie Ware** (Jessica Lois Ware, born 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and podcaster from London whose soul-steeped pop and R&B has carried a string of albums into the U.K. Top Ten, and whose sound has shifted from minimalist, Sade-like soul on her 2012 debut *Devotion* to the classic-disco dance music of *What's Your Pleasure?* (2020), *That! Feels Good!* (2023), and *Superbloom* (2026).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/548148c4712eda89f1f2df89ac2ccc72)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / born | Jessica Lois Ware, born 1984 in London, England[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) |
| Breakthrough | *Devotion* (2012), a Top Ten U.K. album and Mercury Prize nominee[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) |
| Studio albums | *Devotion* (2012), *Tough Love* (2014), *Glasshouse* (2017), *What's Your Pleasure?* (2020), *That! Feels Good!* (2023), *Superbloom* (2026)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) |
| Biggest song | "Say You Love Me," written with Ed Sheeran for *Tough Love*, which Ware has described as her biggest song[9](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/features/jessie-ware-zan-rowe-interview-10-years/103229522) |
| Early career | Background vocalist (including for school friend Jack Peñate) while working as a journalist; English literature degree from the University of Sussex[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) • [8](https://www.liverate.com/artists/jessie-ware) |
| Podcasting | Co-hosts *Table Manners* with her mother Lennie, cooking for guests such as Paul McCartney, Cher, and Kylie Minogue[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/jessie-ware-superbloom-review-b2959176.html) |
| Style range | Adult alternative pop, neo-disco, and adult contemporary R&B[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) |
## Early life and start in music
Ware was born and raised in London and earned a degree in [English literature](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-literature) from the [University of Sussex](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-sussex).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) Her music career began in earnest with background vocalist roles, at first a part-time pursuit while she worked as a journalist.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) After finishing her degree she worked with Man Like Me and sang backing for her old school friend Jack Peñate.[8](https://www.liverate.com/artists/jessie-ware) Her mother encouraged her to keep singing at a moment when Ware was considering leaving performance behind and going to law school.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/8850-jessie-ware/)
Journalism ran in the family: her father, John Ware, was a veteran BBC *Panorama* journalist, and Ware herself once interned at *The Jewish Chronicle*, though she says she never dreamed of writing for newspapers.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/20/jessie-ware-i-didnt-get-maternity-leave-im-self-employed-being-a-musician-is-my-business) • [4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jessie-ware-interview-new-album-b2326458.html)
## Breakthrough: Devotion and Tough Love
Guest appearances on tracks by electronic acts SBTRKT, Sampha, and Joker first brought Ware to the attention of British dance-music listeners, and she was also featured on Disclosure's "Confess to Me."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) • [5](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2013/04/jessie-ware-asap-rocky-devotion-interview/) Her debut album *Devotion* (2012), produced with Dave Okumu of The Invisible alongside [Kid Harpoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kid-harpoon) and Julio Bashmore, reached the U.K. Top Ten and was nominated for the [Mercury Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/mercury-prize), drawing frequent comparisons to Sade and Adele.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) • [10](https://time.com/3501892/review-on-jessie-wares-tough-love-sadness-sounds-sweeter/) Ware later said she let the producers use her "like a canvas," hiding her fluttery voice inside edgy production.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/20/jessie-ware-i-didnt-get-maternity-leave-im-self-employed-being-a-musician-is-my-business)
**Tough Love (2014).** Her second album was helmed mainly by BenZel, the production partnership of [Benny Blanco](https://www.edgepedia.org/benny-blanco) and Two Inch Punch, and placed her between left-leaning British electronica and a more polished [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40) pop sound.[10](https://time.com/3501892/review-on-jessie-wares-tough-love-sadness-sounds-sweeter/) Miguel co-wrote "Kind Of...Sometimes...Maybe," and the soulful guitar-led ballad "Say You Love Me," written with [Ed Sheeran](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-sheeran), became what Ware has described as her biggest song.[10](https://time.com/3501892/review-on-jessie-wares-tough-love-sadness-sounds-sweeter/) • [9](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/features/jessie-ware-zan-rowe-interview-10-years/103229522) Sheeran and Ware reconvened for "Sam," a ballad about her growing family written for her third album.[9](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/features/jessie-ware-zan-rowe-interview-10-years/103229522)
## Glasshouse and the low point
*Glasshouse* (2017), released after the birth of her first child, was aimed at the mainstream, with blue-chip songwriters brought in; the Guardian's review describes the ensuing gigs as disastrous enough that her mother told her to quit music.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/04/jessie-ware-whats-your-pleasure-review) Ware has said she felt her music career might be finishing in that period.[9](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/features/jessie-ware-zan-rowe-interview-10-years/103229522) In a 2017 interview she also spoke plainly about the economics of her profession: "I didn't get maternity leave! I'm self-employed – being a musician is my business."
## The disco turn: What's Your Pleasure? and That! Feels Good!
A label switch and a change in management preceded her fourth album, *What's Your Pleasure?* (2020), an album of luxe disco that the Independent called a career-revitalizing turning point and that AP later described as the moment she cemented her status as a modern-day disco queen.[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jessie-ware-interview-new-album-b2326458.html) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/548148c4712eda89f1f2df89ac2ccc72) *That! Feels Good!* (2023) continued the direction with camp reverie inspired by [Teena Marie](https://www.edgepedia.org/teena-marie) and [Minnie Riperton](https://www.edgepedia.org/minnie-riperton); the Guardian ranked it No. 4 in its 50 best albums of 2023.[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jessie-ware-interview-new-album-b2326458.html) • [12](https://www.theguardian.com/music/jessie-ware) Ware herself framed both records as new beginnings rather than a reinvention, saying, "I've never been a struggling artist... I'm making celebratory music that's meant to be enjoyed."[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jessie-ware-interview-new-album-b2326458.html)
## Superbloom and the diva era
*Superbloom*, her sixth album, was released on 10 April 2026.[8](https://www.liverate.com/artists/jessie-ware) Produced with Stuart Price (Madonna, [Dua Lipa](https://www.edgepedia.org/dua-lipa)), John Shave, and TommyD, it extends the retro-disco brief of its two predecessors with flirty flute, bongos, dramatic strings, and openly sensual lyrics; the innuendo-laden single "Sauna" evokes [Olivia Newton-John](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-newton-john)'s 1981 hit "Physical," and "Ride" samples the hook from [Ennio Morricone](https://www.edgepedia.org/ennio-morricone)'s theme for *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* (1966).[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/jessie-ware-superbloom-review-b2959176.html) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/548148c4712eda89f1f2df89ac2ccc72) Reviews were mixed in emphasis: the Independent praised her fluent, rooted soul singing and called her "the 21st century's answer to Donna Summer," while AP gave the album two and a half stars out of five, judging that its lack of conflict and tension left it short of drama worthy of her powerhouse vocals.[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/jessie-ware-superbloom-review-b2959176.html) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/548148c4712eda89f1f2df89ac2ccc72)
## Collaborations and Table Manners
Ware has remained a serial collaborator as a songwriter and guest vocalist. By the end of the 2010s her secondary discography included recordings with [Bobby Womack](https://www.edgepedia.org/bobby-womack) ("Love Is Gonna Lift You Up"), Disclosure ("Confess to Me"), Mayer Hawthorne ("Her Favorite Song"), HAIM ("Days Gone By"), and Ed Sheeran ("New Man"), and she guested on [Kylie Minogue](https://www.edgepedia.org/kylie-minogue)'s single "Kiss of Life."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography) She previewed her fifth album with "Free Yourself," a collaboration with disco specialist Stuart Price.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography)
Since 2017 she has co-hosted *Table Manners* with her mother Lennie, a food podcast built around cooking for guests at her mother's table; with its cookbooks and live events, the Guardian has suggested it is probably more lucrative than mid-tier pop stardom.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/20/jessie-ware-i-didnt-get-maternity-leave-im-self-employed-being-a-musician-is-my-business) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/04/jessie-ware-whats-your-pleasure-review) Guests have included [Paul McCartney](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-mccartney), Cher, Reese Witherspoon, Margot Robbie, Louis Theroux, Kylie Minogue, and Yotam Ottolenghi.[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/jessie-ware-superbloom-review-b2959176.html)
Ware has three children with her teenage sweetheart, a personal trainer named Sam, and has said that touring *Devotion* for two years, and the warmth of crowds, helped her overcome the self-loathing she felt in her twenties.[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jessie-ware-interview-new-album-b2326458.html) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/20/jessie-ware-i-didnt-get-maternity-leave-im-self-employed-being-a-musician-is-my-business)
## References
1. [Jessie Ware Biography by Andy Kellman, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-ware-mn0002577357/biography)
2. [Jessie Ware Rising feature, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/8850-jessie-ware/)
3. [Jessie Ware: 'I didn't get maternity leave! I'm self-employed', The Guardian (2017)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/oct/20/jessie-ware-i-didnt-get-maternity-leave-im-self-employed-being-a-musician-is-my-business)
4. [Jessie Ware: 'I self-loathed and apologised for myself for far too long', The Independent (2023)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jessie-ware-interview-new-album-b2326458.html)
5. [Jessie Ware Is 'Never Going to Be a Pop Star Like Lady Gaga', SPIN (2013)](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2013/04/jessie-ware-asap-rocky-devotion-interview/)
6. [Music Review: Jessie Ware's 'Superbloom' dives deep into disco, but the drama runs cool, AP News (2026)](https://apnews.com/article/548148c4712eda89f1f2df89ac2ccc72)
7. [Jessie Ware, Superbloom review, The Independent (2026)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/jessie-ware-superbloom-review-b2959176.html)
8. [Jessie Ware – Live Tour & Concert Review Consensus, LiveRate](https://www.liverate.com/artists/jessie-ware)
9. [Ten years in, Jessie Ware is enjoying her career more than ever, Double J / ABC](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/music-reads/features/jessie-ware-zan-rowe-interview-10-years/103229522)
10. [Review: On Jessie Ware's Tough Love, Sadness Sounds Sweeter, TIME (2014)](https://time.com/3501892/review-on-jessie-wares-tough-love-sadness-sounds-sweeter/)
11. [Jessie Ware: What's Your Pleasure? review, The Guardian (2020)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/04/jessie-ware-whats-your-pleasure-review)
12. [Jessie Ware coverage hub, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/jessie-ware)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › R&B singers, 2010s to present › Surnames P to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license