You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with the disease. A month later she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and oversized specs. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ 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 bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. They have often coincided with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut performing in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band the group while studying at the academy. “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 larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
