Jessica Sweetman

In this edition of the Chatterbox redux Podcast we are joined by the amazing British singer-songwriter Jessica Sweetman, who chats about her powerful new single ‘Rise Up’ - alongside a cinematic music video starring Irish actor Emmett Scanlan, known for his roles in Peaky Blinders and Kin.

The euphoric folk-pop leaning track speaks to resilience, reinvention and finding strength after adversity - themes that closely echo Sweetman’s own unconventional journey through the music industry.

Filmed across the coastal landscapes of Hastings, the ‘Rise Up’ video blends raw emotion with cinematic storytelling, pairing Jessica’s soaring vocals with a striking on-screen narrative alongside Scanlan. The two first connected at the Irish Post Awards in 2025, where Jessica performed the track, and Emmett attended as a presenter. After the show, Scanlan approached Sweetman about creating a music video for the song - a conversation that quickly evolved into a reality.

Speaking about the collaboration, Emmett Scanlan said: “Jessica was so insanely collaborative and trusting throughout the whole process of making this video. I really felt invited into her story, her journey. The fact that the song is, in my opinion, a total beauty, was just an added bonus. I hope you love watching this video as much as we loved shooting it”

Born near Birmingham and educated in Sutton Coldfield, Sweetman’s path into music began early, but under far from typical circumstances. In her mid-teens, her family relocated to Cornwall during a difficult period, spending their first year living out of a camper van while her father commuted back to Birmingham for work.

It was during this turbulent time that Sweetman first began performing publicly, singing at local venues to help support the family. What started as a necessity quickly revealed itself as a calling. Encouraged by her father, who managed her early gigs, she began developing as both a performer and songwriter, teaching herself how to record demos and eventually co-produce her own music.

By her late teens, Sweetman had moved to London, determined to pursue music full-time. She immersed herself in the city’s nightlife circuit, often playing multiple gigs a night in cigar bars and jazz venues around Mayfair. She honed the voice and stage presence that would become her signature while navigating the realities of life in small, often rough London flats and the relentless hustle of the gig economy. The experience forged the resilience and independence that now define her as an artist.

After years on the London circuit, Jessica relocated to New York seeking a fresh creative start. Her determination soon became the stuff of industry legend when she spent two weeks secretly living and writing songs inside the Nashville offices of BMG, working through the night until label executives discovered her demos. Those recordings ultimately led to her securing a record deal with BMG.

Since then, Sweetman has built a reputation as a dynamic vocalist and songwriter with songs ‘Stay Wild’ & ‘Single Bells’, as well as ‘Broken Perfect Love’ with acclaimed tenor Alfie Boe, and collaborating with Paul Oakenfold, plus opening for Van Morrison & Hozier.

‘Rise Up’ arrives just ahead of Sweetman’s upcoming UK tour with acclaimed tenor Alfie Boe, beginning April 15th and includes a performance at the Royal Albert Hall. The tour follows their recent duet

With a voice that moves effortlessly between vulnerability and defiance, “Rise Up” signals a defining moment for Sweetman - an artist whose story of grit, risk and reinvention mirrors the spirit of the song itself.

‘Rise Up’ stands as both a personal anthem and the beginning of an ambitious new era.