She’s back. But honestly, it’s not the Jorja we met in 2018. When Jorja Smith released Lost & Found, she was the "it girl" of UK R&B, draped in the kind of hype that can either make a career or crush it under the weight of expectation. Then, silence. Mostly. A few singles here and there, a solid EP (Be Right Back), but the world was waiting for the "big" one. That big one finally arrived with jorja smith falling or flying, an album that feels less like a polished product and more like a woman finally deciding she doesn't care if you like her outfit or not. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s surprisingly rock-heavy in places. And it’s exactly what she needed to do to stay relevant in a landscape that moves way too fast.
The title itself is a bit of a mood. Is she dropping? Is she soaring? Most of the time, while listening, you realize she’s doing both at the exact same time. That’s the reality of being twenty-something and famous, isn't it? You're rich and successful, but you're also just a person from Walsall trying to figure out why your relationships keep imploding.
The Shift From Polished Soul to Raw Energy
If you were expecting "Blue Lights" part two, you probably felt a bit of whiplash. This record is a sharp pivot. While her debut was anchored in classic soul and jazz-inflected boom-tap, jorja smith falling or flying leans heavily into the production duo DAMEDAME*. They bring this grit that was missing before. Take a track like "Try Me." It’s aggressive. The drums hit like a physical weight. Jorja isn't just singing; she's defending her space. She’s literally telling the world that if they want a piece of her, they’re going to have to work for it.
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It’s interesting. Most artists get safer as they get bigger. They find a formula that works—usually a mid-tempo ballad about heartbreak—and they milk it until the cows come home. Jorja went the other way. She went home to Walsall, stepped away from the London "scene," and made a record that sounds like it was recorded in a garage with a million-dollar budget.
There's a specific kind of freedom in this tracklist. You’ve got "Little Things," which is basically a high-octane house track meant for sweaty clubs, sitting right next to "Greatest Gift," a tender nod to her roots featuring Lila Iké. It shouldn't work. On paper, a house-adjacent banger and a reggae-infused acoustic track are weird bedfellows. But because her voice is the glue, it somehow sticks. She’s not trying to fit into a genre anymore. She’s just being Jorja.
Why falling or flying Matters in 2026
We’re a few years out from the initial release now, and the album has aged surprisingly well. Why? Because it wasn't chasing trends. In 2023, everyone was trying to go viral on TikTok with 15-second hooks. Jorja made songs that actually go somewhere. She’s exploring the nuance of adulthood. It’s not just "I love you" or "I hate you." It’s "I’m not sure if I even like myself today, but I’m going to keep moving anyway."
The production is the secret sauce here. By sticking with DAMEDAME*, she avoided the "too many cooks" problem that plagues most major label R&B albums. You know the ones—where there are 15 credited producers and the album ends up sounding like a playlist rather than a cohesive thought. jorja smith falling or flying has a specific sonic DNA. It’s warm, it’s a bit distorted, and it’s unapologetically British.
Breaking Down the Standout Moments
Try Me: This is the manifesto. It sets the tone for the "flying" aspect of the title. It's defiant. If you haven't watched the music video—shot in a bullring in France—you should. It’s a visual representation of the internal fight she’s been having with her own public image.
Little Things: Pure fun. Sometimes soul singers take themselves too seriously. This track proves Jorja knows how to let go. It’s the peak "flying" moment. It’s about the flirtation, the night out, the lack of consequences.
Falling or Flying: The title track is the heart of the whole project. It’s got this funky, almost indie-rock bassline. It’s the song that best captures the anxiety of being in your mid-twenties. "I don't know if I'm falling or flying." Who does, honestly?
Broken is the man: This is the "falling." It’s a callback to her ability to write devastatingly simple lyrics about complex emotional states. It’s quiet. It’s heavy. It’s the kind of song you listen to when it’s raining and you’re staring out a bus window feeling sorry for yourself.
The Walsall Influence
You can't talk about this album without talking about her move back home. London can be a vacuum. It sucks the personality out of people and replaces it with "industry standard." By moving back to the West Midlands, Jorja reclaimed her perspective. You can hear it in the way she talks in interviews about the record—she sounds more relaxed, less like a polished pop star and more like a girl you’d meet at a pub who just happens to have the voice of an angel.
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This geographic shift influenced the "rawness" people keep mentioning. There’s a certain lack of pretension in the Midlands that found its way into the vocal takes. She isn't always hitting the "perfect" note. Sometimes she’s breathy, sometimes she’s almost shouting, and sometimes she just lets the note trail off into nothing. It’s human. In an era of AI-generated perfection and Autotune-to-the-max, hearing the actual texture of a human throat is kind of a relief.
Addressing the Critics
Not everyone loved the pivot. Some critics felt the album was a bit scattered. They wanted the cohesive, jazzy flow of Lost & Found. And look, if you want a smooth, background-music-at-a-dinner-party vibe, this isn't the album for you. It’s jarring. It’s supposed to be. Life isn't a smooth jazz playlist. Life is a series of sharp turns and unexpected bumps.
The criticism that it’s "inconsistent" actually misses the point. The inconsistency is the theme. The title literally gives it away. You can’t have a project called falling or flying and expect it to stay at one altitude the whole time. You have to have the drops. You have to have the turbulence.
Technical Mastery and Vocal Growth
Let’s talk about her voice for a second. In the early days, Jorja was often compared to Amy Winehouse or Lauryn Hill. Those are massive shoes to fill, and for a while, it felt like she was trying to lean into those comparisons. In this album, she stops doing that.
She’s found her own "middle" voice. Her lower register has gotten richer, more stable. She’s using her vibrato more sparingly, which makes it more impactful when she actually lets it loose. On tracks like "What If My Heart Beats Faster?", the vocal control is insane. She’s navigating complex melodies without making them feel like a vocal exercise. It’s effortless, but if you try to sing along, you realize just how difficult those runs actually are.
How to Truly Appreciate the Album
If you want to get the most out of jorja smith falling or flying, don’t shuffle it. I know, everyone shuffles everything now. But this is an "album" album. It’s designed to take you through a cycle.
- Listen on good headphones. The production layers in "She Feels" are subtle but brilliant. There’s a lot of panning and atmospheric noise that gets lost on phone speakers.
- Watch the visuals. Jorja directed or was heavily involved in several of the videos for this era. They provide the context for the songs.
- Give it three spins. The first time, it might feel weird. The second time, the hooks start to stick. By the third time, you’ll be humming the basslines in your sleep.
The Actionable Insight: What We Can Learn From Jorja’s Journey
Jorja Smith’s approach to her second studio album offers a pretty great lesson in brand evolution—whether you're an artist, a creator, or just someone trying to navigate a career.
First, don't be afraid to pivot. If she had made Lost & Found 2, it would have been safe. It would have sold well. But it wouldn't have been "her." She took a massive risk by changing her sound and working with a smaller production team. That risk paid off in artistic integrity.
Second, embrace the mess. The most relatable parts of this album are the parts where she admits she doesn't have it figured out. In a world of curated Instagram feeds, being "messy" is a superpower. It builds a deeper connection with your audience because they see themselves in your struggles.
Third, go back to your roots. When you feel lost in the noise of a big industry or a high-pressure environment, literal and metaphorical "home" is where you find your voice again. For Jorja, it was Walsall. For you, it might be a hobby you abandoned or a mentor you haven't spoken to in years.
Moving Forward
So, what's next? After the success of the jorja smith falling or flying tour and the subsequent remixes, she’s positioned herself as a versatile heavyweight. She can do the high-fashion Dior thing, but she can also headline a gritty festival stage in the rain. She’s no longer just a "soul singer." She’s an artist.
The next step for any fan is to go back and listen to her live sessions from this era. The "Live from London" versions of these tracks bring a whole new dimension to the music. You get to hear the band interplay, the raw vocal power, and the way these songs breathe outside of the studio environment.
Stop looking for the "old" Jorja. She’s gone. This version is much more interesting. Whether she’s falling or flying doesn’t really matter—as long as she keeps taking us along for the ride.
What to do next:
- Listen to the album in full, specifically focusing on the transition between "Little Things" and "She Feels."
- Check out the "Try Me" music video to see the symbolic representation of her struggle with fame.
- Explore the DAMEDAME* discography to understand the production style that shaped this era.
- Follow her "Walsall to the World" journey through her social media archives to see the behind-the-scenes of the album's creation.