You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient 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, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees