Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware - S15 Ep 17: Anne-Marie

Episode Date: June 14, 2023

This week we have popstar, TV coach, and 3 time karate champion, Anne-Marie joining us on Table Manners. Ahead of the release of her brand new album ‘Unhealthy’, Anne-Marie told us all about her dressing room rider at The Voice, the entire room at her house dedicated to her Lego collection, and a sorry story involving battery acid… just wait! It was an absolute pleasure to have you round Anne-Marie, promise next time we will have a breakfast burrito or a peanut butter sandwich to serve up for you! The new album ‘Unhealthy’ is released on the 28th July. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to Table Manners. I'm Jessie Ware and Lenny's just walked through the door, hot off a city airport flight from Scotloss. Actually it was Gatwick, darling. And I just want to say Kallispera to everyone. Kallispera, mother. I haven't seen you for 12 days. I know, God. But I did see you in Corfu, didn't I? Which we very much enjoyed.

Yeah. You've been telling me that Scotloss is the greenest island, mum. But I did see you in Corfu, didn't I? Which we very much enjoyed. Yeah. You've been telling me that Skopelos is the greenest island. Mum, you've been lying. Darling, it's still the best. I very much enjoyed Corfu. I have to tell you. There is something about going to Greek islands, though, that I get recognised.

Now, I know you say that it's my wine... What, the same Greek island you've been going to for the past 32 years you'll get recognised? No. Oh, cool. I had two people on the beaches there saying, are you Lenny? You and Alan Carr, national treasures. No, as you would say, and I say, how did you recognise me?

Because Jessie says it's my whiny voice. Is that it? And they say, no, not at all. I have to say, Alan Carr gets, not to take it away from you, Lenny, in your fame, Alan Carr gets people kind of touching him. I know, to get selfish. No, but people just feel like they know him fully.

I mean, shaking his hand, being like, Alan, they're old friends. But he's a warm, cuddly person. Yeah, he's fab. But I was like, wow, this is wild. Do you think there'd ever be any possibility that we could have a little collab with Alan? I think it's on the cards, Mum. I'll speak to Alan, we'll make it work.

Okay, darling. So yeah, I've been in Corfu for a month. Yeah. Filming, having a lot of fun. We're back. Yeah. We have a massive pop star coming this evening huge she i've known her for a very long time we were kind of both doing dance music at the same time she was a vocalist for

rudimental and then just emerged as kind of one of the biggest pop stars um well she's international she's called anne-marie everyone knows her if you don't know her I don't know where you've been but you will definitely have one of her songs in your ear she's fabulous and she's coming over for a meal that I'm cooking now she's apparently a vegan she's a vegan that doesn't like a few things so what have you made it could go one way or the other okay darling well she said she liked vegan moussaka so i thought that i'd do instead of moussaka by the way i've changed my mind about 10 000 times this morning and so i i was ready to do loads of different ones so i've done a deconstructed well no it's a stuffed aubergine okay it's based on mirasoda's um stuffed aubergine

it's with walnuts but i didn't have enough walnuts so i put puy lentils in there it's with jarred red peppers cumin cinnamon um onions you haven't made it spicy haven't you haven't made it spicy because she doesn't like spice so basically it's yeah a stuffed aubergine so that's kind of like the main thing and then a friend of mine called mash she put up a vegan potato salad the other day i think this is really clever and brilliant and it was so quick to do and it tastes delicious tinned artichokes a tin of artichokes put it in the blender with some tahini lemon juice salt a bit of garlic loads of olive oil zhuzh it up until it's liquid it'll be kind of like a thick liquid if it's too thick loosen it up with a bit of water or a bit more olive oil and then you mix that in

with the potatoes and some red onion and I'm just going to add some rocket because I don't have any light lamb's lettuce. But it makes kind of a creamy sauce. And it was so quick and it tastes really good. I actually had a little bit with my salmon this lunchtime. So I'm doing that. And then I've done something very quick. I've got coconut yogurt on the bottom with griddled courgette and a kind of,

I know that she probably isn't going to have this Anne-Marie, but I just did a kind of, I know that she probably isn't going to have this Anne-Marie, but I just did a kind of, it's a basil, lemon and chilli and oil vinaigrette on top. So. Okay. It's a really hot night. Yeah. And so I just thought maybe something fresh,

maybe I should have played it a little safer. I've just seen on her Instagram that she did the Capital time Capital FM summertime ball where she was kind of line dancing in cowboy hats and a fabulous outfit in this heat

it looked schvitzing Anne-Marie coming up on Taylor Anne-Marie is here. Hello. With brown hair.

I have, yeah. I know. Looking gorgeous. Brown hair now, yeah. Do you know what? I've wanted it for a while, but I kept blonde. Is that your colour? This is my natural colour, yeah.

And I've wanted it for ages, but I kept blonde and kept long-sleeved. I just thought, because I haven't had this colour since I was like 16. I've never met you with brown hair. No. And I've probably known you over 10 years now. Yeah.

So I thought, after having it that long a time, I thought, I won't suit dark hair. So I just kept blonde. Or like, I went like pink and orange and stuff

and never went brown. And I just was like, no, I'm going to do it this time. And everyone around me was like, are you sure? Are you okay? Are you going through a crisis?

Like, are you, you know, all this stuff. And I grew up my roots so far that no one could say I couldn't do it because it looked so bad. But you must have Irish blood. Why? Because she's called Anne-Marie. No, she looks gay-lit.

The blue eyes and dark hair. You know what? I don't know. Everyone thinks that I am. For some reason, I'm just, everyone says you're Irish. But you look, you look. Or Scandi?andi yeah I've had that but my second name is Scottish Nicholson so yeah and actually wearing tartan as well oh yeah

oh yeah well you know Celtic and Rangers there's still a bit of Irish I did do that DNA thing you know this thing and I was like I'm so excited because you know I want like loads of stuff and it was just like 99.9 British British. Oh, I'm sorry. English. I'm so sorry. I know, it was. And then everyone was like, it's so rare. And I was like, bleh.

I hated it. You were actually exotic. Yeah, I wanted a little something. How does it feel? Do brunettes have more fun than blondes? I feel like, honestly, a new person. In a good way? Yeah, a new person.

I feel like I've had a transformation for years now of like trying to be really comfortable with just naturally who I am instead of putting on all this stuff and for years hair was like a thing that was my like I'm gonna do crazy hair because I think I'm really boring and like really insecure and you know all this stuff and my clothes and my nails and makeup and all this stuff was a thing that I did to like cover up that whole thing so after all these years of becoming comfortable with actually who I am I feel like the brown hair is like the final piece of like this is literally me now I think you look beautiful thank you you look honestly not as well I don't know maybe I've got makeup on but you don't look honestly not as, well I don't know maybe, I've got makeup on, but you don't look

like you've got a tiny bit. You look so beautiful and natural. Thank you. She really likes to objectify. I love it. I couldn't give a shit, she looks gorgeous. Thank you. Do you think people take you more seriously now you've got dark hair?

Because I find they do. I don't know yet because. You've never been blonde mum so you wouldn't know. You literally wouldn't know. You wouldn't know. Do you know what? Probably. I definitely... Probably, but I've only had it like a week.

So I haven't had to test it out yet. But I have experienced people just looking at me and not recognising me straight away. That's probably quite nice. Yes, nice. It is nice. I just love it. I love it. But the weirdest thing is a lot of people have come up to me and said,

Oh, your hair, do you like it? And I'm like, yeah it. But the weirdest thing is a lot of people have come up to me and said, oh, your hair, do you like it? And I'm like, yeah. People say the weirdest things. What? They're so weird. So they're essentially saying they don't. Yeah, they don't. Three people yesterday.

Shut up. I know. I think they're taken by surprise. Was it the Capital Summer Time? How was that? That was amazing. I've done it like, oh, God, 15 times now. That's because you're a massive

pop star. Yeah, but this one was extra special. I think with what I just said, the whole process of becoming comfortable and confident and all that, and just, I've never properly danced or done any routines, or just felt like I deserved, or like, I was comfortable there, and I just, that was the first time I was like, oh, I didn't feel nervous at all. I just felt like I was ready for it. And I did dancing, which is a new thing in the brown hair. And it was all good. Babes, I'm telling you, choreography is the way forward for making you feel better on stage as well.

Because you don't have to think about the voice for one moment. So you're thinking about the dance moves and then the voice just comes because it's your natural gift. True. for one moment so you're thinking about the dance moves and then the voice just comes because it's your natural gift true and then but then after the dance moves happen i struggled after that because i was out of breath oh my god i know the thing that i and you're i'm sure you know all these tricks you just lean on your backing singers for certain extra bits and i don't know like let the audience sing i did that a lot in rockabye yesterday. I was like... What are you saying? So, you did, like, line dancing almost. And you were a cowgirl. Yeah.

Full-on cowgirl outfit. And it was a really hot day, babe. I was wet. You had a lot of layers. I wore... They were jeans, but, like, the style of a cowgirl. Yeah. And I was so confused, because afterwards, I was like, I had loads of dancers all dressed as cow. And this I was so confused because afterwards I was like, I had loads of dancers all dressed as cow.

And this is a problem because when I come off stage, I was like, all my dancers were cow people. Cow people. I don't know. Yeah, cow people. So I was like, cow people. And I was like, the cows. And I was like, no, no.

So it was all a bit awkward. But it was so hot. And it was everyone who went before me on stage was just saying all the time, I'm so hot. It's so hot. Are was everyone who went before me on stage was just saying all the time I'm so hot it's so hot are you okay

are you hot and I was like I'm not going to say that when I get on stage but I was fucking hot so you didn't say it no but I was like I'm sweating

but the beads of sweat rolling down it's wet it comes through your head doesn't it and then it starts oh my god and then it starts

to come down your head and prickle yeah all wet there i had a whole sweat patch under there underneath the boobs it's just so unfair isn't it it was good um so life's pretty good yeah album's nearly out yeah it's coming 28th of july do you feel like i feel like you're in you're in promo mode at the moment and it is full on i'm out of promo mode and it feels really good babe so don't worry i'll see you on the other side in august you're literally just going to be in your pants on your bed watching reality tv but um no you know what i i struggled so much with this whole career like before Covid I was struggling I was angry I was

tired I was just done I was like this is too hard it's too stressful and then Covid happened and I was like oh I'm not gonna complain about that again so since coming out of that I feel like it's just taken on a whole new thing. I don't know your story. When did you start singing? So you grew up, where did you grow up? Grew up in Essex. Essex girl. I'm an Essex girl.

And karate? Karate is like, she could kick any of our arses. Yeah, I'm three times world champion karate. Yeah, so watch your mouth, mum. Watch your mouth. Not my mouth we've got to worry about, Mrs. True, true. When did you do all your karate?

How old were you? So karate, I started when I was nine. But I went to a dance school from the age of like two and a half. Because my sister was four years older. So as soon as she went, I just followed. So was your mum in the business? Nope. But they just wanted you to learn how to... Wanted me to get out the house.

They were like, yeah. Did you have a lot of energy yeah I was yeah hyperactive as hell but I went every Saturday did that then I got an agency with the dance school then I did musical theatre so that was the first you like music love it I love it which which have been your parts I was little eponine little Cosette in Les Mis. Oh my goodness. And then I did, when Whistle Down the Wind was about, I did Charity and Brat. So you've actually been on the West End? Yes. You were in the West End from what age?

From, I first got Little Eponine when I was six. And then I was last in Whistle Down the Wind when I was 11. So babe's like, no wonder you're a bit tired. You've been working since you were six. Yeah. But it was fun then. So, did that interfere with education? Did you have to have a tutor?

Or did you then manage to resume kind of mainstream school? I carried on, but they let me out for, like, the matinees. They just didn't really care, I don't think. They were just like, go on. It was a different time, wasn't it? Yeah, they were fine with it, and I just did that. Then started karate when I was nine. Then was doing them both at the same time,

then stopped the musical theatre, concentrated on karate, and then went to college and did BTEC Performing Arts. So I was always planning to do musical theatre. That was, like, my aim, because I love it. When did you discover your voice? I think when I was at college, I started doing like open mic nights and everyone was like, oh my God, your voice is so unique. And I was like, is it?

I just like singing. I didn't really, I didn't ever think about what I actually sounded like. I just knew I could sing in tune. And what music were you listening to? All over the place. I mean, Alanis Morissette, Christina Aguilera, Paul Weller. A bit of everything, really. And then after college was when I was auditioning for musical schools.

And I just don't know what it was, but I just was like, I don't think this is right for me. And I felt like my voice was a bit different to the girls who were auditioning. And I was like, lower, obviously. And I was like, I'm not sure. And I met randomly one of the guys in my class was a pianist. And he was teaching this lady piano. And she was a songwriter.

And she needed someone to sing her songs to pitch out to people. So I went to the studio and sang her songs yeah did the demos and the the engineer spoke to the label and was like you have to listen to this girl sing so that was first thing that happened and I went in how old were you then I was maybe 19 and I went in and they just signed me to their management and I went out just writing songs from that point, which I didn't know how to do. So I knew of you from Rudimental, where you were a vocalist with Rudimental.

How far into you being signed was that? I actually weren't signed at that point. I was just with management and publishing. I didn't have a record deal. So I guess I started that when I was just with management and publishing I didn't have a record deal so I was I guess I started that when I was about 23 I think so I started touring then and then and then I signed when I think I was 24 25 do you think you've done kind of you've worn every kind of hat in performance from like competitive sport to musical theatre to dance vocalist to being a solo singer like it being a judge like you know you've done it all and like I think that

seems quite similar to me in lots of respects and for me I really enjoy the fact that I've been able to do lots of different things and I kind of appreciate them as I get older. Yeah. But is there any kind of time where you, you know, when you were going through a tough time before COVID and stuff, is there any time that you go back to and you think, God, that was a good time, like in music, and where maybe it felt carefree, where you didn't have to think about everything? Or do you feel like that's right now?

Right now, for sure. That's so nice. As a soloist. I think when I was singing for Rudimental, I was carefree where you didn't have to think about everything? Or do you feel like that's right now? Right now, for sure. That's so nice. As a soloist. I think when I was singing for Rudimental, I was carefree because it wasn't my music and I weren't kind of being judged for me individually. It was like the whole crew. So I was happy as Larry then. And I didn't need to do any promo either, so I just slept and sang.

I know. Do you still go to musicals? Yeah. Jessie's going on Wednesday. I'm going to see Guys and Dolls. Oh, nice. The new production of Guys and Dolls apparently is amazing. Oh, this is a child.

You all right? I'm not. I've not seen... You are lying. You just wanted to see yourself first. Say hello to Anne-Marie Hello Anne-Marie's really cool

We're actually in the middle of something So what would you like? A drink? Can you say hello? Look at her Could I have a kiss darling? Look who's here, Gaga Alright We're going to wrap this up

I'm going to get you a drink I need to know if you could be one character in a musical theatre, your best part, which one would you play? Or have you done that with Les Mis? I think I would probably choose Eponine in Les Mis. You would? Yeah, because I was little Eponine. And you would like to be the big one?

Yeah, and I did like Brat in Whistledown the Wind. That was fun. But, yeah, I think Eponine is my favourite. Yeah. So, okay, let's get into food. Yes. Anne-Marie, you have some really annoying requests. Oh.

Jazz, your wonderful manager who I adore and who also organises the greatest party. Has she ever organised one of your parties before? Yeah, she's just good at organising everything. She's great, yeah. However, Jazz Sherman sent us your little thingies.

Hates coriander. I hate it. You've got the thing that Clara Amfo's got. I hate it. What the... She calls it the devil's herb. Yeah.

The devil's herb. It just ruins every other flavour for me. Soapy? It's just, I don't know. But if it is like the tiniest little piece in a meal,

it will just ruin the whole thing. We have no coriander tonight. Fantastic. Now you're a vegan. Well. Who eats cream. Well she says well. Yeah I know. She did that paloma fade well when you'd cook the vegan. Let me tell you i'm not always vegan yeah i'd like to hear this story i'll tell you the story right my me and food

have had a weird relationship so from young i have eaten just sandwiches i grew up on sandwiches i love sandwiches too i love sandwiches they're the best things ever and my mom and dad actually went to doctors about it once because they were like she just eats sandwiches and bread this is like a children's book you should write this book yeah the little girl that makes sandwiches just another hat to wear just make it happen um okay so they he was like is she growing okay is she fine they were like yeah what was in the sandwich well mostly philadelphia cheese that's it ph Philadelphia cheese. And then for breakfast, I'd have peanut butter on toast. And for dinner, I'd have two Philadelphia cheese sandwiches. So no fruit or veg? No, nothing. So after that phase happened, I started eating chicken and prawns. Like that was my boundaries. And then, but I think this all

happened because I have a phobia of sick. So I was scared to put anything in my mouth that I thought would make me sick. Like vomit. I've got a phobia of that. So I was always a bit weird around food. And then when I started touring, I felt so out of place because everyone was going out to meals and I was like, oh, I'm just going to order Caesar salad on the rim.

Sandwich. Sandwich. Sandwich. Sandwich. So I felt a bit weird. And then I watched a documentary called, oh, what was it? Oh, What the Health, right? The vegan one.

I don't know. Yes, it must be because I went vegan after that. And I was like, why am I putting food in my body that I don't need, right? And I only ate chicken and prawn sometimes so it weren't as if I was removing things but the problem was I didn't eat any vegetables so I removed I removed everything even Philadelphia cheese so now you were just bread I was eating bread but peanut butter is vegan so I was fine I was eating peanut butter on toast right and then I gradually we're in our 20s now. I'm at 27, yeah.

Got it. And I then forced myself to eat every vegetable, and now I love vegetables. Oh, thank God. And I was vegan for four or five years. Yeah. And then I ate Philadelphia one day, and I was like, can't do it anymore.

So you are predominantly vegan however you can eat cream if it's in a something yeah if I don't know it's there if you do you eat cheese Philadelphia cheese yeah I have got some Philadelphia in the fridge if you want to put some on okay do you eat fruit I eat fruit yeah okay so I have made tonight's dinner yes you said you like veggie moussaka yes you have not like veggie moussaka. Yes. You have not got veggie moussaka. You've got a version of.

It's a stuffed aubergine. Perfect. It's got some hui lentils in there. Right. I'm scared now. I know, I know. I'm scared too. No, it's like, it's got, it's got.

You don't have to eat it. I've got toast, babe. I've got toast. It's fine. I'm just, she's looking terrified now. I'm terrified. See, you've really. It's got peppers. I've got toast it's fine I'm just she's looking terrified now I'm terrified but good so you've really it's got peppers

it's got walnuts it's got wheel eggs it's got some breadcrumbs she's tapping her she likes normal she likes normal vegetables she looks terrified yeah

it's a stuffed fucking aubergine it's basically a deconstructive veggie moussaka bag yeah great you can try it I'm gonna try it I'm gonna give you a tiny bit so it doesn't

there's no yoghurt in it or anything. There's no yoghurt. Yeah, fine. Now, I have some sides as well. Right. I have a potato salad. Mm-hmm. Love that.

Some red onion. Now, I've tried to make it creamy but without the cream. Now I'm scared. I'm not a fucking vegan chef and you don't take me like that much food. Right. So, I've done... It's tinned artichokes. Right. So I've done. It's tinned artichokes.

Yeah, I love artichokes. Just start with tahini and lemon. She's gone. I lost her at tahini. No, you've lost her at tahini. I haven't put it on yet. Jessie, did you not see there was a clue in all the things? She wanted plain things. My favourite was when they were like, she really loves hash browns and egg.

Yeah, I know. That's a new thing as well I've put into my diet. I should have just done a fry up, really, shouldn't I? Yeah, I'm obsessed with breakfast burritos at the moment. Where do you get them from? It's just a shame because it's not breakfast now, Anne-Marie. So I didn't know whether that could work, but maybe I should have just... No, I'm going to love this.

I don't know if you are. She's not. So I'm going to give you really small math. I think she's not. Should I keep the sauce on the side? Why don't you let her help herself? Okay, I've got vegan butter, if you prefer that.

Fantastic, yeah. So maybe you can just have a bowl of spuds with some vegan butter or olive oil. And then I've got griddled courgette. Oh, yeah, like that. Okay, and I was going to put that on a bed of coconut yogurt. Maybe I shouldn't like that. Okay, and I was going to put that on a bed of coconut yogurt. Maybe I shouldn't do that.

No, this is so bad. Okay, and she knows me more. Yeah, I think because Jessie can't leave it. Just less is more, darling. Why don't you let her choose her own? I think she's going to get really sad when she sees these stuffed aubergines. Why? Because I'm worried they...

They're delicious. I'm going to put it in my mouth. Okay, but you may not stay in there. Yeah. I hope I do. I'm going to feel so bad. What's your celebration meal? If you go out with your family, it's a big birthday,

your album gets to number one straight away, and you're celebrating, what would be your celebration meal? I don't know. I normally, this is the thing, you said about the breakfast burritos, I cook them, but I had one in LA and I was like, this is the best thing I've ever had. So then I started cooking them myself. I don't know what my celebrating meal would be. Probably pizza. Pizza. Oh, do you like pizza?

Yeah, I love pizza. Jessie, she loves pizza. I'm a child, basically. I have a palate of a five-year-old. So if you went out with your family for a birthday, you don't go to fancy restaurants? No, I... You go to a Mexican and have a burrito?

Yeah. Or you have a big pizza? Yeah. Yeah, so normally I get people to come round mine and we have the dinner there. But I normally like, I get a Thai or a pizza and that and a Chinese and that. You have all different things. So everyone just pick at everything.

Is that a big bunch of coriander there? No, it isn't. It's green salad but it does have some herbs in it. What kind of herbs? Dill. Do you hate dill? i like dill yeah okay parsley not coriander and a bit of basil yeah yeah that's fine that makes pesto doesn't it that yeah yeah do you like pesto i like pesto i've got some vegan pesto yeah would you like me to put them with your potatoes yeah okay oh yeah thank So you cook? Yes. What do you cook?

What's your best dish? I normally cook, I like miso aubergine with rice. Oh, wow. Yeah. I do my own pizzas with, like, gherkins. Have you got a pizza oven? Yeah, I do, but I haven't used it yet. Do you have a house with a garden?

Yeah. Yeah, Jessie's got a pizza oven down there. Yeah, I haven't tried it yet. I'm excited to do that it does feel a bit long though with the wood and so when you're on the voice and everyone's got a rider yeah what is on your rider man very peanut butter bread toaster avocado oh right because i do like crackers i'm gonna give you avocado. I'm going to give you some avocado. I'm just going to give you a picnic with the shit you like. Okay.

So I like crackers with the caramelised onion hummus and avocado and sun-dried tomatoes. Yeah. One of my favourite snacks. Okay. So I have that on the ride up. Crisps I love. I'm obsessed with crisps. I love crisps too.

And then the bread and peanut butter. But I do, I order food in as well. I like Nando's and stuff like that. But I do, I order food in as well. Like, I like Nando's and stuff like that. Chicken? No, no. There's like a plant version. Is there? Yeah. Where do you go on holiday?

And do you choose it because of the cuisine? No, but I do get worried every time I go on holiday. Do you? I'm like, I'm not, what if I can't find a Philadelphia? You could take it with you. Yeah, I know.

I've done that before as well. So Philadelphia is still really important. Yeah. It makes me really happy. Would you like some Philadelphia? Yeah. I'm not trying to make a point. I'm just letting you know.

I love it. Would you like some? I could eat it off a spoon. I mean, thanks. Unless you can have it. Would you like some? I could eat it off a spoon. I mean, thanks. You can have it. You at the moment have got a really little amount of food. There's a whole aubergine coming. It's going to be fine. She's going to try it. I don't think you're going to...

You don't think I'm going to like the insides? I like courgette. Courgette I love. I like doing pesto courgette pasta. Oh, nice. Courgette, whatever it is. Here we go. Thank you. Come on, Anne-Marie.

I've given you a tiny bit of the stuffed aubergine. Oh, it looks great. Okay, good. This is lovely. I love courgette. Good. I'm going to wait till you use it. Right.

And you can have more, Anne-Marie. It looks lovely. I'm going to love it. Okay, great. Anne-Marie, I kind of feel like we may have your last supper already. Yeah. And it may be sandwich-based. Yes.

I would say, honestly, if someone said, give me your last meal right now, it would be a Philadelphia sandwich with no butter. White or brown bread? White bread. Philadelphia. I sometimes put Philadelphia on one side and peanut butter on the other side. Okay, a nice little combo. That's really good. But honestly, I don't know what it is.

After not having it for so long, every time I put it in my mouth, I'm just so... Happy. So happy. Well, do you know, they'll probably be sending you loads of Philadelphia after this. Don't be the face of Philadelphia I'm alright with that I really like it great

would you like some salad a little bit just to colour the plate this is I used to be I really like it. Great. Would you like some salad? A little bit. Just to colour the plate. This is... I used to be... Everyone used to say, oh, beige, beige. My plate used to just be beige.

It's not anymore, is it? Mm-mm. It's green. I've stepped it up. You're quite a homebody. Yeah. That's because I haven't got used to being, like, this new person

yet i'm just still used to hiding in my hole it's funny because on the outside i'm so confident yeah and and that's not said with it's it's said with kind of inspiring um confident such a sense of yourself you know make brilliant, like have such confidence. And I think, I think of you as kind of one of our like most important stars. Do you know what I mean? Like you've always got something to say and it feels like it's your great voice. Thank you. No, I think that's, I'm happy though that that's the case because i've always wanted to project that in case anyone was watching

and they felt a way that they could see me being that way and they would take it on you know because i i it behind closed doors i was literally a hermit because i couldn't leave the house from anxiety so like it's i didn't want to then put that out but i definitely did speak about it to people just in case, you know, there's sometimes when fans would run up to me and I'd run away, because I was literally scared. I didn't want people to think that I was being an arsehole. So I would end up explaining myself and letting people know,

but my end goal has always been to be that person that you have seen, you know? So it weren't as if it was fake. No. It was just who I was, you know, trying to be. But did doing the voice kind of exacerbate the anxiety or did it help? I don't know, because...

Hmm, that was a crazy one, because at the time, the first time they asked me to do it, I was still in that place of, like, why would anyone even want my autograph? Like, not understanding it. So I was like, why are they asking me to do it? I don't know. I don't know enough kind of thing.

And then as soon as I started doing it, I think that was actually a big part of the transformation. Like, realising that I actually have got a lot of knowledge from being in the industry for so long and my confidence grew so much throughout that first series that's amazing so yeah i do i i owe that a lot actually and you've got ollie on there yeah ollie yeah and we had him on the podcast he's really sweet he's like another Essex boy yeah that's what I was thinking we've also had Will.i.am and we've had Tom Jones no way no we've had the whole panel the whole panel yeah I love them um so so we've got have we got the have you got a sweet tooth at all Anne-Marie

yeah I do um well chocolate I love just Just in general, any chocolate. Not bounty, because I don't really like... Oh, I love bounty. Yeah, I like coconut, but chocolate and coconut are weird. But chocolate definitely. And then sweets, I can just eat and eat and eat. So it's kind of bad. And I've stopped it recently, actually. Because I can eat a lot.

Even though it seems like I don't like many things, the things I do like, I can eat a lot of. Best chocolate bar, then. I've been eating just a normal dairy milk bar at the moment, but it has been double-decker for a while. I love double-decker. And crunchy. Oh, yeah. I love double decker. And crunchy. Oh yeah.

I love a crunchy. Oh yeah. But I'm more of a crisp girl. What's the flavour? Prawn cocktail or salt and vinegar. I've been eating discos a lot lately but they burn my actual mouth. They're fantastic.

You don't drink so what drink of choice would you have with your... I drink a lot of water. But if I'm going to push the boat out, I'll have a Coke. My drink of choice was a Malibu and Coke. Malibu. Or Disarano and Coke. That's where my sweet tooth comes in, alcohol.

Because it was like Disarano, WKD, anything sweet. Strawberry daiquiri. So you stopped drinking like eight months ago? Yeah, October last year. Do you feel better for it then? Was it to the point where you needed to kind of rein it in or did it help with the anxiety, like getting a level on that? I guess so.

I haven't really thought about it in that way. But again, I'm quite a... Same with food. If I like something, I do it and eat it or whatever a lot. So when it comes to alcohol, I think, you know, after a show, you know, going out with your friends, it just seems to be there all the time in my life, throughout touring and stuff.

And I just stopped. I don't know what it was. I mean, it didn't help with my phobia of sick that i was like getting drunk and then being scared of being sick in the morning that didn't really help anyway so i was like well i'll remove that fear yeah from my life and yeah just stopped everything just sober from absolutely everything bad basically apart from chocolate have you got any vices? Besides chocolate. Lego. Oh my goodness.

Marie, this is so revealing. You're not a foodie, but you're a fucking geek. Yeah, I'm a geek. I love it. Have you done the bouquet of Lego yet? Yeah, I've done that. Done that in lockdown. I've done a whole town.

Oh my God. Yeah, you can buy a whole separate parts of town. So I've got a library, a police station, a jazz bar, and I've got it all connected together. Which room is this in, in your house? Well, yeah, that's the problem. I've got a games room, but I have no space, so it's on the table at the moment.

But eventually I want to have a whole room of it. Did you always love Lego? No, I loved jigsaw puzzles first. I was obsessed with jigsaw puzzles and then I got introduced to Lego and I was like, this is way better because it's like an actual creation. Do you follow the thing, the instructions?

Yeah, but I love that. I love following, I love like building Ikea. Do you know what I mean? I love building wardrobes and drawers and just building stuff. We're very different. Anne-Marie. Give me a flat pack. Yeah, give me a flat pack every day.

This is great to know. Yeah, I'm a bit like that. Do your mates all come to you and say, I've just bought something, can you come round and give us a hand? No, but I'd like it if they did. OK, Jessie, now you know. Yeah, I really want to know about the sick phobia, but I feel like it's the wrong way to talk about it.

No, don't, Jessie. You can if you want. It don't make me feel a way talking about it. Really? Yeah, yeah, for real. Did you ever watch that Hunsnet one when the woman went on this morning for a fear of custard? No.

And he went, so what is it about custard? She goes, blech. He goes, is it the... Blech! No way. It's amazing. So now I'm just thinking about you and the custard lady. No, it doesn't make me be sick. If I see someone do it, it don't make me do it.

So have you managed to not be sick for a very, very long time? Yeah. I've tried hypnotherapy. I've done therapy. I mean, I think I've been sick twice in maybe 20 years. Wow. Yeah. But it's bad.

Like, I've had it since I was young. And there was a point, I think I was 12. I was at a karate competition in Blackpool. And we went on all the rides. And I was on the waltzer. I hate the waltzers. Yeah. They're the bugger.

Yeah. Someone was in my thing, cup or whatever it was. No, no, stop it. With the hand to the mouth. And I was like, don't worry, chill out, chill out, it's fine, it's fine. And then... Did it touch you? No, no, no, because... So basically what happens, yeah,

my body actually thinks it's going to die. So I just shut down. So you have a panic attack. And my body just does whatever it needs to do to get away, right? So I, in my head, see the ride slowing down because I'm saying to the guy, please stop the ride. So in my head, I'm like, he stopped it. So I just step off it because I think it stopped

and it's still going full pelt. So this is how bad it is because i've been like on motorways in the middle seat and like people are like oh i feel a bit sick and i'll just get i'll just go to get out the door that's quite dangerous it's so dangerous yeah so like when i tell people about this everyone goes oh everyone no one like sick do you know what i mean and i'm like i i can't stop my body from what it's doing in that moment i don't think I've ever seen it come out of someone's mouth. I'm so aware of it that if someone coughs, I get over the opposite. I can't go on public transport, can't go on buses.

Trains are scary for me because I can't get off. To be fair, I've never seen anyone sick on a bus or a train. Have you? I think I have been sick on a bus or a train. Jessie suffers with car sickness. Oh yeah, that's's a bad thing. Have you made dessert? You know what? Luckily, I haven't.

Because what would have been the point? I have got... What have you got? Vegan ice cream, chocolate ice cream. Oh, nice. She's perked up. You've got two options. You've got Ward's Menon rocket.

You've got caramel peanut. Oh, that's going to be you. Caramel peanut, please. Caramel peanut. Cool. It was actually delicious, by the way. Right, cheers. What was the other one?

To getting through the main. What was the other one? And trying some things. A watermelon one. A watermelon one? Or I've got honeycomb, vegan honeycomb. Oh, you do like crunchy. Do you want a little bowl of that too?

She can have two of that. I'll have that after, yeah. Okay, pass me. She's thrilled now. These vegan? Yeah. These are so good, dudes. Have you ever had them?

I've never heard of them. Babe, they're so good. Sweet. So, what was it like being with Shania Twain? Apparently she makes a really good hummus, I heard. We didn't talk about hummus. Basically, I wrote the song last year as a solo song. And my label are very into me doing collaborations all the time.

It's just, you know, they love it. And I do love it. So when this album came about, I was thinking about who to collaborate with. And when I wrote the song, it's kind of country. And I was like, who to collaborate with and when I wrote the song it's kind of country and I was like who would make sense here and I said to Jazz just send it to Shania's team and just see what they say you know

and she was like I've heard nothing back she's busy, she's touring and I was like just one last time just see what she says and she sent and she heard it and was like I love it it i'm in the studio in london for one more day and then i fly home so come to the studio and i was like oh my god i can't believe what is happening so went there she was amazing so warm so bubbly and just like yeah

so excited still you know to like make music and it was so lovely yeah and we just had loads of fun and just recorded it done some vocals together went to uh nashville the other day to do the music video yeah just as you do wow yeah but she did her bit in nashville and i did my bit in kent yeah but um how'd they brought it together well exactly so we filmed it like um an old western movie basically so the cutting and images and all that stuff is very cut you know it's like eyes and you know hand on the yeah gun and stuff so it was kind of easier to do it. But I still went there to film some bits with her. But because weirdly

Nashville don't have any western sets. They just have fields. So I was like I can't do a whole western video in a field dressed like cowgirls. It just didn't make sense to me. So we found this set in Kent,

which is a whole town. You know in the movies where it's like the tumbleweed? The shops, just in some woman's back garden. No, stop. I swear, her name is Jolene. No, stop! Yeah, yeah. And she made this set in her garden.

And it's just with all the horses. I can't believe it. It's crazy. It's amazing. So I went there and did a whole video there so yeah that's just being edited now so that was fun yeah

that's wild, shout out Jolene shout out Jolene she just lives her life like a western movie in Kemp is it her real name? yeah it's her real name so she's had to live up to it I think that's what she's done did Did you wear a cowgirl hat and things?

She was pretty normal actually. She had to do that. She was so Essex. It was funny actually. Are you going to Glastonbury this year? I was going to, but I don't know. I went last year. Did you play last year?

No, I didn't. I lost both of my big toenails. How? From walking so much I think. I had Doc Martens on and it just banged against them yeah

never experienced it before they've only just grown back so I was like I'm not going again next year have to have toenail protectors yeah

but I do love Glastonbury it's the best I think it is the greatest isn't it do you think you've got good table manners Anne-Mar manners um no i don't think so i think i burp a lot and i and i because this i do it so much i don't think

i've realized when i'm doing it now so i do i haven't heard you burp tonight no that's good before you're going to do it then. And what would be a nostalgic taste or scent that could bring you back, transport you somewhere from your childhood? I feel like we even need to ask that. It can't be peanut butter. Philadelphia. It can't be Philadelphia. I remember once in Spain, my nan and grandad lived in Spain,

so I grew up going there, and I remember once I had a pizza with bolognese on top of it, and I'll always remember that. Is it a good memory? Yeah, a good memory. And you take it back and you remember all these things, and I actually got a henna tattoo on my leg, and it's stained my leg ever since.

No, stop. I need to see it. No, stop. I don't know if you're going to... How old were you? No, it was just like a little... You know, one of those tribal things. I was like, stop.

I was about seven, I think. Let's see if it's still there. There. Oh, my God. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can see it, like, ever so slightly. It was like that.

It was just a strip. I bet your parents were like... I don't feel like I care. I don't care. What's your favourite tattoo at the moment of yours? I have one on my leg that's a girl sitting at a desk and it says, what the fuck is going on? That's my life at the moment.

You know, I just thought of this memory. This isn't food, but it's kind of food so I grew up in a flat till I was about three and I remember this completely I walked into the bedroom me and my sister shared a bedroom and there was like brown liquid on the side and my sister was like

lick that and I was like what is it she's like it's coke coca cola spill it you need to lick it so I went like that and licked it. It was battery acid. God, no wonder you've been traumatised. It had come out of a battery, yeah? And my tongue just sizzled.

And I just ran into my mum. I was like, no, I need some water, I need some water. But I didn't tell her why. Because I was like, I don't want to get my sister in trouble. And I didn't tell her until I was like... I would be dobbing on that sister. I was like, I don't want to get my sister in trouble. And I didn't tell her until I was like... I would be dobbing on that sister. I was like, it wasn't until like secondary school, and she was like, and I'd just come out of it. And she was like, you could have died.

Like, why did you not tell me? You could have done. But it's only the tiniest bit, but it made my tongue really... Even if you lick a bad treat, it's got that soury-burny thing. That's what it tasted like. You're a like shit bag sister she gets away with everything everything I was the devil child

yeah she's a perfect child how's your tongue now I don't know I'm not sure if I'd known any different maybe we should blame the fact that your palate isn't that extensive because of the battery acid though so your album comes out when 28th of july so you won't be able to go on your summer

hole straight off will you no i think i'm going to when am i going to be for august 30th august 30 lovely so a little little month after it yeah a month after so that'll be good i want to talk about the title unhealthy yeah where does that come from well from my food dietaries but also i'm i feel like because i'm quite an obsessive person i feel like most of my thoughts are unhealthy about everything well the the previous therapy yeah so then this moves into unhealthy yeah so like therapy wasn't doing what it had done for you before you'd written you put all your kind of um therapy into writing songs so unhealthy yeah yeah it's kind of well this is the story because all of a how sorry that just came into my head. So basically when I started therapy that was in lockdown so that's when I started writing the second album so it was all very much based around self-improvement you know figuring out my brain and all these techniques that my therapist was telling me and I felt like I went into therapy because I was quite numb to emotion.

And then I came out of therapy numb to emotion in another way, in the sense of I'd learned so much on how to understand everything and deal with things. I just didn't feel like extreme anger or extreme sadness or extreme happiness anymore. extreme anger or extreme sadness or extreme happiness anymore i was i was back on the middle road um but in an obviously the most end of the other end of the spectrum to what it started in and i kind of missed feeling those extremities is that a word extremes extremities extremities yeah but yeah extremes yeah um again so i i stopped therapy i do it every now and again but not it was like weekly thing for years but you're zooming yeah zooming um and i just started getting those emotions back and it was so fun to like have

this new life with these extremes and but still having the ability to understand and like cope with things so it was like i'd mixed a bit of the two terribly if you're so stable that you don't feel any highs or lows that's what it became so the second album was very much like that and you know calm and collected and then I got out the other end I was like oh it's a bit boring now so in the process of this new album I just wanted to feel everything again you know and I basically have done a journey of two relationships one which I came out of which wasn't great and then one which I've gone into which didn't start great because it was like an obsessiveness, unhealthiness.

And now, and then at the end it kind of levels out. So it's like all of the phases of a relationship that you could imagine is put into the album. And potentially you thinking the new relationship potentially wouldn't it would be almost but isn't that gross unhealthy

but actually it's worked out quite lovely it's growth in therapeutics terms it's growth to have gone manage things

and then be able to manage the highs and lows again yeah and you're in a happy place yeah yeah do you feel like

you've shown more of yourself on this record? Mm. Or was that not even the, was it not even about that? Was it about just personally feeling? I definitely feel like I was less scared to experiment with stuff on this one. I feel like in the last two albums, I've definitely felt a way about staying in a lane.

Like, if I don't sound like this, or if I don't make a song that sounds like this, are they going to know it's Anne-Marie? You're like, will they recognise it? So you kind of stay in that bubble of... Also, let's be honest, Anne-Marie, you'd had some huge international success. And so I guess when you have that success and everyone's enjoying that success the suits and everyone yeah and you're a person that wants you're told that you need to and want you should want to stay in that lane I understand

that like I understand that like i understand that that would be a feeling that would you know we've had other musicians on who say the same thing i mean i think ollie mers for example said he was worried about his new album coming out because he had really forgotten whether he should be who he always has been whether he should try something new i mean it's definitely easier to stay in the lane. I definitely think my label and people around me were a bit worried about me going, I'm going to try new stuff, you know.

It's scary for people because it is... I've been doing something that works. It just has worked. But it's not as if I've changed completely. It just feels like every song had the freedom to just be whatever it wanted to be. Did you work with different people? Yeah, I did work with different people, actually, yeah.

Did you stop listening to the label so much? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I definitely did. I've always been outspoken with the people people around me and like sure in what I want but there is always that sense of me that's like oh I do want to be successful I do want my music to be heard by everyone so what is the the compromise you know and I feel like in this album I was just like whatever you know I'm just gonna do whatever i want and hopefully my voice is recognizable enough now you are loved and recognized and celebrated yeah i feel like you could do whatever

you want yeah i feel very lucky i feel like the voice definitely helped with expanding that into my actual personality you know people seeing me and not just hearing the music. Cause I try and put a lot of personality into the songs, but it's hard, you know, you can only do so much. So the voice definitely helped with that. I feel like I just feel very loved. I do feel very loved by everyone actually. I've got very good people online and you know,

crowds are really nice to me. I just, yeah yeah i feel happy because you've never been a dick and you're talented but like you've never changed you've always been the same yeah it's been the same um and i think that yeah that it's amazing that you're feeling like this on this new record yeah i didn't i don't it's hard because you don't want it to sound cliche because I feel like every time someone gets to the third album, they're like, oh, this is the most me it's ever been.

I've always, recently I've been saying like, with the whole therapy thing, I feel like when you grow up, you try and like, find yourself and have all the answers or find what you're here for. You know, you do that as you get older and I just feel like I'm just sick of that now.

I don't really want to know who I am. I just want to just... Get on with it. Yeah. Live every day and just have fun and make music and tour and everything. Are you looking forward to touring? You enjoy that? You know what's mad? This tour is going to be very theatrical.

Great. I'm going back to the musical theater amazing yeah um all of my music's going to be kind of like made to be more theatrical sounding so it makes sense and the set design is going to be very like musical vibe you know like actually mean something instead of just screens and just me dancing in the middle which is I feel like what people expect of a pop girl but yes I'm excited about it definitely I want to thank you for fitting this in

it's really full on at the moment no it's alright I loved it next time I will just give you a sandwich or pizza I will be so happy with that you don't have to even try

no I mean I know it's not the point of the podcast but you know I honestly will not try next time

I did love it though but I love you so you're forgiven I love you but thank you and good luck with the new record thank you

and I just hope you enjoy yourself I think it's I'm sure you will I think I was in a very similar place where you are and it's so freeing

and brilliant when you stop kind of feeling like you need to people please and and kind of I don't know

it's really freeing and I think you're about to have like the best best time on this run with the album and touring and all of that. So, yeah, enjoy it. Buckle up.

Yeah. Thanks, darling. Thank you. Thank you. Well, I feel like you want to adopt Anne-Marie now. What a beautiful woman. She's so lovely. So gorgeous.

Love the black hair. Dark hair. The dark hair is fab. Gorgeous. The sliders were fab. I've never seen anything like her. She's just great. She's quirky. She's fantastic. She's fantastic.

She's a kilt and a t-shirt and sliders. The t-shirt said, don't be a dick. Okay. Maybe that was like a subliminal message to us. To you. To me. Anne-Marie, such a sweet girl. Unhealthy, her third album is out on the 28th of July.

Go and listen to her new song with Shania Twain. Go and watch the performance back song with Shania Twain. Go and watch the performance back from Capital Summertime Ball. She's doing it all. Hot stuff in those cowboy outfits. Thank you to Anne-Marie for coming over. I will give you that Philadelphia sandwich next

time and it'll be much easier for all of us. When you go to, I might take your children to a farm in Kent. Maybe i'll have a lookout for jolene's set that is such a good story um we'll see you next week