Devotion

A British singer/songwriter who became known for the 2012 single “Wildest Moments,” Jessie Ware was called “the missing link between Adele, SBTRKT and Sade” by Clash magazine for her sophisticated blend of R&B, synth-pop, adult contemporary, and trip-hop. On her studio debut album, Devotion—also noted by critics as one of 2012’s more adventurous albums—Ware works with esteemed producers Julio Bashmore, Kid Harpoon, Dave Okumu, and Keith Uddin to carefully craft this music. While her voice has been compared to Sade's and Lisa Stansfield's, her music can be likened to a wider palette of sounds, including Roxy Music’s Avalon and Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange. Aside from kicking off with an opening trio of tunes that any R&B artist would desire, Devotion includes four additional singles in “Night Light,” “Sweet Talk,” “Imagine It Was Us,” and a reworked version of “110%” that’s now called “If You’re Never Gonna Move” due to legal issues concerning clearances of a Big Punisher sample.