Jessie Ware

She has the soul of Sade and the looks of Elizabeth Taylor. The young Jessie Ware went to school with Jack Peñate and appeared in school musicals alongside Florence Welch. A future in showbusiness surely beckoned. However, Ware chose to study literature instead. When Peñate later invited her on tour as a background vocalist, she redeveloped a taste for performing. Five gold albums later, the London singer-songwriter crowned herself queen of the dancefloor on ‘That! Feels Good!’ (2023). “It’s disco, it’s house. But not as you know them,” wrote a British newspaper. Ware filters the musical heritage of personal heroes such as Chaka Khan and Diana Ross through a modern lens. She works with people who know exactly what they’re doing and what pop music is supposed to be. Party time!