Bustle Mixtape
The pop star discusses her camp new albumThat!
Feels Good!, Kylie Minogues surprise cameo, and the song she never wants to perform again.
Jessie Ware is a mom to three kids, but to some LGBTQ+ fans,she is Mother.
Oh, shut up, ego, the 38-year-old British singer-songwriter tells Bustle.
It was wig-snatching a few years ago, and I appreciated getting wigs thrown at me on stage.
But Mother is the highest compliment and it comes with responsibility.
So I will always try and be a good mother to my fans.
Jesus, I should not forget them.
Wares joyous fifth studio albumThat!
Feels Good!, released on April 28, is certainly camp enough to kindly her queer devotees.
Feels Good!acts as an answer to its predecessor,Whats Your Pleasure?
It gave me the confidence to be able to say, You know what?
Things are nice at the moment.
Lets have a dance, she says.
Im feeling very pleased with myself that I went for a workout today.
And then I ate loads of chocolate to congratulate myself.
Below, Ware discusses the surprise cameos onThat!
Feels Good, the song she wont sing on her next tour, and why she hates karaoke.
Who are they and how did that come together?
I just went through my phone book.
Nobody thats on it has heard the song so theyre like, Did I make the cut?
Im like, Everyone made the cut, dont worry.
And then Ive got Roisin Murphy doing one in a loo in an airport.
I got Kylie Minogue.
Ive got Jamie Demetriou, who actually really enjoyed it maybe a bit too much.
My mom, my best mates…
I actually didnt get Sam, my husband, to do one, but never mind.
You mentioned Kylie Minogue, my jaw dropped.
Bless Kylie, I think she went and did it properly in a studio because shes that pro.
I asked her and didnt hear back she was moving to Australia.
Then I get this file that was like, Heres this option or this option.
I was like, I f*cking love you.
Shes absolutely better than you’re able to ever imagine in real life.
Shes kind, shes charismatic, shes a freaking star.
Who are the boys named in Shake the Bottle?
Im slightly worried that Benny Blancos going to think that Benny is him.
It’s not, it just sounded good.
I promise you, none of the boys are any boys that I know…
But everyone knows an Eddie, everyone knows a Jackson.
On Hating Karaoke & The Hit Shell Never Play Live Again
Whats your go-to karaoke song?
I dont like karaoke.
Karaoke is for people that dont sing.
Nobody wants to hear me do karaoke.
Im not leaving, fromDreamgirls.
But this is me taking the piss.
What song played at your wedding?
Your husbands reactions to your last album were hilarious.
Whats his favorite song on this album?
Hello Love, I think.
No, he likes Lightning.
What song do you want played at your funeral?
So I feel like maybe I should have that, too.
I want people to weep at it, but I also wouldnt mind them laughing, too.
Is there a song that you never want to play live again?
Yeah,If Youre Never Gonna Move.Im so bored of it.
Its time for it to go.
Is there a genre that you want to make music in but you havent yet?
I still feel like Ive got a few more R&B moments in me.
But first, musical theater.
Im in the works with something at the moment, so fingers crossed.
What was the first CD, tape, vinyl, whatever, that you ever bought?
I think Bjorks Its Oh So Quiet, but that was a single.
I was mad about Take That, so probably Take That was my first album that I bought.
They didnt make it in the States, but I was completely in love with them.
The Grammys are…
Hopefully going to invite me one year.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
This article was originally published onMay 5, 2023
