You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already beginning starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
