You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her youth, already beginning performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
