You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was planning an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her youth, already beginning performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
