Jessica Clemmons

For every high profile case like George Michael or Prince, there are dozens of artists, maybe even hundreds, over the last few decades who have been stung by their record company contract. Here Jessica Clemmons vents her frustration after eventually breaking free from a difficult deal.

Clemmons talks about disloyalty and deceit when describing her deal over the last few years and therefore it is a surprise that Free is actually a power ballad of the ilk that Celine Dion might have pumped out twenty years ago. Thankfully, unlike Dion, Clemmons does not bend notes out of shape and go on a full vocal gymnastics display during Free, instead sounding vulnerable in the verse before powering her way into the catchy chorus.

This is the track that Clemmons feels most passionately about from her album Loving This Day, and that emotion shines through as she sings about her “heart being broken into pieces” over an initial guitar and strings backing. George Michael also chose to record his feelings on record with a track called Free, but while his was an understated mention at the closing of Older, Clemmons feelings are far more exposed, and she says the whole experience was liberating. The single’s been given a glossy remix by Ash Howes (Dido, Kylie, Will Young) and could be the moment Clemmons not just breaks free, but starts her career proper.