THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
504-Jess Glynne-Hold My Hand.
2015-Number 1 single.
Best Bit-At 0.50. ‘I Cry When I Laugh’ is the title of Jess Glynne’s debut Album. Glynne has said, ‘I do actually cry when I laugh, it’s a known fact about me, the minute I laugh I cry.’
Jessica Hannah Glynne, was born on October 20th, 1989, in Hampstead, London, England, having appeared as either the lead artist, or as the featured artist on seven UK Number 1 singles, (which is eight if you include her appearance on the 2020 charity single ‘Times Like These,’ as part of Live Lounge Allstars’) Jess Glynne has had more UK Number 1 singles than any other British female artist. She was born into a Jewish family, whose name was originally Goldstein, but her grandfather changed it to Glynne. Her mother, Alexandra, worked in A&R in the music industry. After completing her A-levels in 2008, she took various jobs including working in a fitness centre, before spending a period of time travelling the world. In her late teens she began to take her music career seriously, when introducing herself to songwriters and producers. Jess Glynne first met one of this songs co-writers Janée Bennett, known professionally as ‘Jin Jin,’ at a month long music course at an East London college. One of the duo’s early compositions caught the attention of ‘Black Butter Records,’ who signed Glynne to a publishing deal, and introduced her to music managers and lawyers. The president of ‘Black Butter Records,’ Joe Gossa said of Jess Glynne, ‘Her voice just flipped me out, there was a fierceness to it. She can talk about everyday things in this way that’s just epic.’ In 2013, she signed a contract with ‘Atlantic Records.’
The discography of Jess Glynne includes three studio Albums released between 2015-2024, and 20 singles released between 2014-2024, both of her first two Albums reached Number 1 in the UK. On the UK top 40 singles chart, as the lead artist she has had eight hits, with three of those tracks reaching Number 1, and a further six top 40 hits as the featured artist, with five of those songs all making the Number 1 spot. In America on Billboard, her debut Album ‘I Cry When I Laugh’ peaked at Number 25, while her only charting single as the lead artist is ‘Hold My Hand’ which stalled at Number 86. As the featured artist, she charted in 2014, on the single ‘Rather Be,’ by Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne, which reached Number 10.
‘Hold My Hand’ was the third of six singles released from ‘I Cry When I Laugh,’ the debut studio Album by Jess Glynne, from August 2015. The song was co-written by Jess Glynne, Janée Bennett, Jack Patterson, and Ina Wrolssen, with the production being by Finlay Dow-Smith, who is better known by his working name of Starsmith. Since late 2015, ‘Hold My Hand’ has been featured in advertising for ‘Jet2holidays,’ as well as being used for various in-aircraft announcements with ‘Jet2.com.’
‘Hold My Hand’ was co-written by Janée Bennett, who is professionally known as ‘Jin Jin,’ and was born in Manchester, England, she is the daughter of the former professional Sunderland footballer Gary Bennett. Prior to finding success as a songwriter, Bennett was a singer, releasing nine singles between 2008-2015, four of which were as a featured artist. She has co-written dozens of hit singles, including Jess Glynne’s debut single ‘Right Here,’ (2014-UK-Number 6) and Tinie Tempah’s ‘Not Letting Go,’ featuring Jess Glynne (2015-UK-Number 1.) Another of the co-writers of ‘Hold My Hand’ is Jack Patterson, who was one of the co-founders of the ‘Electronic,’ and ‘Classical crossover,’ group ‘Clean Bandit,’ whom Jess Glynne made her major breakthrough with, when providing vocals on their 2014 UK Number 1 & Billboard Number 10 hit single ‘Rather Be.’ ‘Hold My Hand’s’ other writer is Ina Christine Wroldsen (Norwegian: [ˈîːnɑ krɪsˈtìːnɑ ˈʋrɔ̀ɫsn̩]; who was born on May 29th, 1984, in Sandefjord, Norway, she is a singer and songwriter. As a solo artist she has released 25 singles as the lead artist, and appeared on a further five as the featured artist between 2004-2019, she has also issued one Album as part of the duo ‘Ask Embla,’ in 2013, which produced two singles. In the UK she is probably best known for co-writing ‘How Deep Is Your Love,’ for
Calvin Harris and Disciples (UK-Number 2-2015.)
Jess Glynne has spoken about how ‘Hold My Hand’ came about, ‘It’s one of those songs that just kind of makes you feel at ease. It was inspired by my severe anxiety. Me and my friend wrote it together. It’s just about somebody being there when you feel insecure in a situation, and that person is just there to make you feel better, I love it, it’s got me written all over it.’ Jess Glynne has also gone on to say, ‘I actually wrote it with Jack [Patterson] from Clean Bandit, and this girl called Janee [Bennett] who I pretty much write all my songs with. When we started it, me and Janee had this idea before we even got to the studio of the line ‘Darling, hold my hand.’ It wasn’t originally like, ‘Oh we’re thinking country.’ But when we put the chords down and started singing, it kind of sounds a little bit like Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5.’ I later on realised that, but it wasn’t done on purpose.’
‘Standing in a crowded room, and I can’t see your face. Put your arms around me, tell me everything’s OK. In my mind, I’m running round a cold and empty space, just put your arms around me, tell me everything’s OK.’