Grammy award-winning Jess Glynne returned to her home turf, delighting fans at an intimate gig to launch her new single.
The record-breaking R&B pop singer played an acoustic set for family, friends and fans at the Hawley Arms, in Camden's Castlehaven Road, on Tuesday night (October 24).
The 34-year-old singer-songwriter, who took a break from music, returned to stun the crowd with her new single Friend of Mine, stopping midway to hug a fan who had burst into tears.
Jess, who was born in Hampstead and raised in Muswell Hill, said she was "very grateful" to be back "standing on this stage and singing" at the Hawley Arms, a favourite haunt since her teenage years and that she felt "quite nervous".
"I feel like I wanted to do this tonight because, firstly, I grew up around here and I had the most fun of my life growing up around here," she said.
"I feel like the world is heavy at the minute and we need to come together and have joy.
"I got my family here, I got my friends here and I got all of you lot here. I'm glad that you guys are here to be a part of this journey. This is just the start of this album, I guess. It's coming."
Jess exploded onto the UK scene as the vocalist on Clean Bandit’s 2014 Grammy Award-winning Rather Be and Route 94’s My Love.
She went on to make history by becoming the first British female solo artist to score seven number ones on the UK Singles Chart.
Her 2015 debut album I Cry When I Laugh was followed by Always In Between in 2018, which went to number one in the charts.
Marcel Frederic, Jess's digital manager and MC, introduced the star, saying: "Jess is a Grammy award-winning artist and she has 1.2 billion - not million, billion - streams on all platforms."
Following a set including old favourites, I'll Be There, 123, Silly Me, Don't Be Hard on Yourself and an unreleased track, Promise Me, from her upcoming album, she partied with the audience and even got behind the bar to pull a few pints.
"It's been amazing," she told the Ham&High.
Superfan Andrea Gee was one of 10 people to win tickets to the event in an Instagram competition and said she initially thought it was a scam.
"These things don't happen to me. She was incredible, simply incredible," she added.
Fan Trish Dunton said: "I like that she's so normal. She's works hard for what she does and she still has her insecurities and everyone relates to that. She's beautiful."
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