Jorja Smith's third album, What Are the Odds, released this week, marks a full commitment to dance music, a departure from her introspective R&B roots. The 29-year-old singer, known for hits like Blue Lights, says the album was made almost accidentally after a studio session with producer P2J produced nine songs in two days. The record, a 12-track collection blending UK garage, funky house, 2-step, and Afrobeats, features collaborations with Wizkid and Devlin.
A Record Made for the Dancefloor
Smith, who has always loved dancing, says she wanted to create music for clubs and parties. "I just love dancing," she explains. "I like going out to listen to music, a lot of my friends are DJs. It'd be nice to hear more of my stuff when I'm outside." The album's genesis was different from her previous work; after making the club single Little Things with P2J, the pair planned a dance EP, but the project quickly outgrew itself. "We went through nine songs in the first two days," Smith recalls. "I turned up to the studio and he'd made all this music from our conversations. I left and went straight to my label and said: 'I think this is an album, not an EP. This is serious.'"
Despite the upbeat tempo, the album retains Smith's emotional depth. Tracks like For Life mourn a friend lost to addiction, Young Heart is a love letter to her younger self, and The Way It Was meditates on the end of a friendship. "If you just sang the songs with keys or piano," she says, "they'd all probably be quite sad."
Navigating Fame and Body-Shaming
Smith has faced intense public scrutiny throughout her career, particularly regarding her appearance. In the run-up to her 2023 album Falling Or Flying, the phrase "Jorja Smith weight gain" trended on X for two days. "It was difficult. I'd be reading things like: 'What happened to her?' Or, 'She's let herself go,'" she says. "It really knocks your confidence." She recalls commenting on a blog post that compared photos of her at 18 with recent ones, asking, "What the hell, guys? I'm literally 18 in that picture. Why are you doing that?"
The singer, who has been nominated for Mercury and Grammy awards and won two Brits, says she never wanted to be famous. "I've always been quite private. I just wanted to put music out as a teenager and see what happened," she says. She has stepped back from social media, no longer running her own accounts, and hasn't been on X in years. "People are so quick. They love you, then they hate you," she adds.
Finding Freedom in Walsall
In 2023, Smith moved back to her hometown of Walsall to escape the pressures of London. "I just needed a reset," she says. "Let me move back home, touch some grass, see some trees." She now divides her time between the West Midlands and the capital, feeling "the buzz of what this place has to offer again, instead of feeling as if I have to wear armour all the time." In September, she will perform a home town show at Walsall Arena, part of Spotify's Hometown Billboard campaign, featuring childhood friend Wesley Joseph and the Blue Lights Choir she founded. "I hope it's a moment that inspires the next generation to believe that big things really can come from Walsall," she says.
Smith is also training for the London Marathon next year, a goal she set after watching others finish the race. "I wanted a goal," she explains. Despite her instinct to retreat from the spotlight, she is trying to step back into the world, recently encouraged by a friend to attend a Vogue party. "It's all about finding that balance," she says. "But I'm feeling good. I'm starting to feel like my younger self again."
