‘It has taught me to embrace life more’: Jessie J on her health battle, career returns and cracking China

You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.

Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

The artist was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The subsequent surgery 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 reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning performing in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals 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 trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”

Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees