Last week the MOBO team made a trip down to Yo Yo’s club night in Notting Hill to see the YouTube sensation and hot tip for huge things this year, Jessie J. If you haven’t heard of Jessie yet then the chances are you’re about to. Already hugely successful as a songwriter, Jessie has written songs for Chris Brown, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake as well as writing Mylie Cyrus’s huge No.1 Billboard smash in the states “Party In The U.S.A”.

However songwriting is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Jessie J’s talent. At the tender age of 21 the singer possesses one of the best voices to come out of the U.K in a long time. Taking to the stage at Yo Yo’s Jessie opened with “Big White Room”, one of the songs that gained her a huge following on YouTube with 112,567 views already! Then, backed by just an acoustic guitar, Jessie sang the stunningly beautiful “Casualty of Love”, sounding effortlessly powerful and displaying an arsenal of flawless riffs and adlibs.

It’s hard to pigeon hole Jessie J’s style, there is something very unique about her. Elements of Jasmine Sullivan, Pink and Ledisi all work their way into the mix, but all delivered in Jessie’s very own style. True to her Essex roots Jessie had great banter with the audience and seems completely comfortable in her own skin on stage.

After some sneak peaks of a couple tracks from her debut album to be released later this year, Jessie then launched into the show stopping “Mama Knows Best”. Definitely a crowed favorite, the track perfectly showcased Jessie’s amazing vocal power and skill. Watching Jessie perform you feel like you are watching true, genuine talent and someone who is poised to do huge things. Now signed to Island records, Jessie’s album is expected to be released later this year. Watch this space!

- Written by Chris O’Gorman