You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was meant as an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d faced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the West End in the production (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
