Jorja Smith is more than 6,000 miles away from home, but tour life has been offering her an unexpected sense of order.
“I feel like when I tour, I settle into a routine because it’s work and the schedule is normally the same every day — it’s either a travel day, off day or show day,” the British songstress says over Zoom from her São Paulo hotel room on a recent afternoon. She appears on screen bare-faced with her hair pulled neatly into a slick bun and feeling refreshed after a nap and a Pilates workout.
“Whereas at home, I could be having to go to London, have a photo shoot really early, have to go somewhere else and it’s all over the place,” the 29-year-old adds.
It’s been a whirlwind of a year for Smith. The Walsall, England-born artist kicked off the summer touring with Harry Styles before dropping her third studio album “What Are the Odds” — a pulsating, club-ready offering that channels U.K. garage, grime, two-step, funky house and Afrobeats — in August. She debuted the album at London’s All Points East festival, which she co-headlined with Tems while also helping curate the lineup. Earlier this year, she performed on “Saturday Night Live UK” and announced that she will headline the 20th anniversary celebration of London’s 20,000-capacity O2 arena.
She also reached a personal milestone: the 10-year anniversary of her breakout debut, “Blue Lights,” an atmospheric, jazzy hip-hop record that reflects on systemic racism and police brutality that instantly marked her as a global R&B star in the making.
“It’s been a really good year,” says Smith, her smile stretching wider as she reflects. “I used to be a bit nervous doing TV interviews and things on screen, and this year, I’m kind of loving it, so I think I’ll be doing more of this stuff.”
(Steven Simione)
She’s also been riding a creative surge that began with “What Are the Odds.” Originally planned to be an EP, the project quickly evolved into a 12-track LP once she and producer P2J (Beyoncé, Burna Boy, FKA Twigs and Doja Cat) — whom she first collaborated with in 2023 on her bouncy U.K. garage-inspired record “Little Things” — locked into the studio after swapping ideas and sonic references for nearly two years. This week, it was announced that she’ll be performing back-to-back Sundays at Coachella next year.
On Saturday, Smith will perform at the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown L.A. Ahead of the show, Smith spoke with The Times about trading London noise for the stillness of her laid-back hometown, scaling her live production for arenas and why she views her latest record as a one-off chapter.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
You are known for soulful ballads, but you’ve always given fans a few bops to make them move like “On My Mind” or “Little Things,” for example. Why was now the right time to make a full–fledged dance album?
I think because after “Little Things,” 2023, me and P2J just said wouldn’t it be great to create this, and this became, in 2025, when we finally had the time to link with each other. And it just felt like the right time.
You’ve said that you created this album with the intention of making people move and so you could hear more of your music when you go out. Have you been able to see how people are receiving it on the dance floor yet?
Literally, no I haven’t but I have been told by people who have been outside that the music’s outside, so it’s good.
In your song “This City,” you talk about your experience of returning back to your hometown Walsall after needing a break from London. How has being back home energized you creatively?
I think it’s just the balance and slowness in everything. There ain’t much to do back home. Obviously, you can go for a walk in London. There’s parks, but it’s not the same and I walk for hours. I love walking. If you walk with me, we’re going to power walk and walk for hours, so I really missed that. I did that from the age of 11 to 18. I used to have a dog and I’d walk every day after school for like two hours, thinking of ideas and just [being] free. Sometimes I wouldn’t even listen to music. I was like “Oh my God, I ain’t done this for about seven years.” In London, I did move somewhere else that was still in London but a little less busy and there was a park, but I could still hear cars. So that was something that I really missed was just the calmness and stillness. I’m a bit all over the place and I love being and doing things, I can’t focus and whatnot, but I do like the balance and that’s what I have now, which I didn’t have as a kid. Obviously, I’m from Walsall. That was what I knew. Then I moved to London, excited. It’s amazing. Released music, everything took off, I’m here, there, everywhere and then finally realizing “Wait, I need balance.” And I got balance.
You split your time now, right?
Yeah, basically, I can go between the two. Like, if I’ve got work or want to see my friends in London, I’ll go there. I’m very privileged that I can do that, and then go home when I want to go home.
Speaking of “This City,” you tapped U.K. grime icon Devlin to re-record the lines from his popular 2010 track “London City.” What was his reaction when you reached out to him?
I DM’d him and I just asked him if I could send him some music and that I sampled him, but I wanted him to re-record it and he said, “Oh, I love this.” He said it was sick. We did a trailer for the album and he came through to that. He’s honestly so lovely. He came out during my festival [set] at All Points East. He was just really happy to be on it, which was great. That was a really lovely moment. Everything’s been lovely moments, to be fair.
(Steven Simione)
I saw nothing but positive things about the All Points East festival, which you co-headlined and helped curate. It felt like a love letter to the U.K. music scene when you brought out people like Katy B and Kyla. What was that day like for you?
That day was really special. It was a lot of fun. Putting out an album the same day as a festival was intense, and I think it took me the weekend to get over the festival and deep it. The whole lead of it was lovely. I got to bring out the Blue Lights Choir, which is the choir I set up back at home. They loved it. They came up on a coach and had the best time. I think the day was really smooth and the show was sick. Amane Suganami is my music director but I’ve been playing with him since my first London performance in 2016. He played guitar and keys, and he put my band together. He’s been like my day one and I was so proud of us because [All Points East] was the first show that felt like we really curated a whole journey for the show. We’ve been doing set lists for years, but this felt like wow, we could take this to the arena. This could be like what the O2 could look like when I do that, so that was definitely a pinpoint moment for me of “Wow, what’s to come.”
You’ve said that “What Are the Odds” is the quickest album you’ve made thus far. Is there anything you took away from this experience that you’re going to continue doing as you make music in the future?
You know, it’s actually something I didn’t do that I want to bring back. Two of my friends actually reminded me that when I first started [and] before I put out music, I would start a song and finish it. Whereas now I’m spoiled with producers and people who are geniuses that can play so many instruments. I’m like, “Oh, can you play that? Actually, let’s try this.” And then I’ll have like four ideas in a day, but nothing’s finished. That’s how we got “What Are the Odds.” So many ideas, and I finished all the ideas. It’s a bit more challenging, but I want to do that. But anything I would take into my next [project]? I’m just excited and I’ve been excited since I got in the studio last September, so this energy I have, I’m just gonna keep running with it.
Are you already working on new music? Will there be more dance music in the future?
I’ve got more songs I want to finish and put out. I just want to create. I think the album, “What Are the Odds,” we made that specifically to move. I feel like since 2017, I’ve always had a dancey banger: “On My Mind,” “Be Honest,” “Come Over.” I always had a tune, so we’re still going to get that, but I made that album because that was my time with P2J, so I’m not going to do that again.
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