Singer-songwriter Jessie J has revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer just as she prepared to release her first album in eight years, creating an extraordinary contrast between professional triumph and personal crisis.
A Devastating Diagnosis
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, received her diagnosis in March this year, shortly after celebrating her birthday and while ecstatically in love with her partner and enjoying motherhood after struggling to conceive for a decade. Her new album, Don't Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended to be an open book about the devastation she'd experienced since her last recording, including endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting and suicide.
The timing couldn't have been more cruel. Cornish had already released the single No Secrets in April and was giving interviews about living her best life while secretly undergoing cancer treatment. She went public with her diagnosis in June and underwent a mastectomy in early July.
"I come out with a song called No Secrets. I'm doing every interview, and they're, like, 'So what's new with you?' and I'm, like, 'Erm, yeah, nothing...'" Cornish told The Guardian, describing the surreal experience of promoting honesty while keeping her cancer secret.
A Lifetime of Health Battles
This isn't the first time health issues have coincided with career highs for the 37-year-old singer. She was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome at age 11 while starring in the West End production of Whistle Down the Wind.
At 17, just after signing her first record deal, she suffered a minor stroke that hospitalised her for several weeks. Later, when preparing to release music in 2020, a car crash injured her larynx and left her unable to sing for a year.
"Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health," Cornish reflected. Despite these challenges, she credits her parents with ensuring her character wasn't defined by her worst days.
From Pop Stardom to Reinvention
Cornish first found success writing Party in the USA for Miley Cyrus in 2009 before launching her own career with hits including Do It Like a Dude, Price Tag and Bang Bang. However, after a decade of chart success, she experienced a dramatic commercial decline.
She admits she lost belief in her music during this period and retreated from the industry. "I just kind of gave up," she said. Her 2018 album R.O.S.E. was a passion project that received little label support but contained some of her favourite songs.
That same year, she unexpectedly found massive success in China after winning the talent show Singer, which attracted audiences of up to 1.2 billion people. "To be celebrated as a singer like that, I hadn't had that before," she said of the experience.
New Album Confronts Past Trauma
Her new album addresses numerous personal struggles, including her public apology to a former girlfriend after previously describing their relationship as "a phase". The song Complicated chronicles her career year by year, referencing her high-profile relationship with Channing Tatum and the frustration of being reduced to "the plus one".
Two particularly emotional tracks address pregnancy loss and the suicide of her former bodyguard and close friend Dave Last. Comes in Waves deals with her miscarriage after IVF treatment in 2021, while I'll Never Know Why expresses grief and guilt over Last's death.
"He was one of my favourite people in the world," Cornish said, becoming emotional. "I hope it's a song that can help people who are left behind."
Finding Happiness and Looking Forward
Despite the cancer diagnosis, Cornish maintains a remarkably positive perspective. She considers herself lucky the cancer was caught early, requiring only surgery without chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
She's now focused on her family life with Danish-Israeli basketball player Chanan Colman and their son Sky, having moved back to Britain from Los Angeles last year. "Birthing someone's child is so unique," she said. "It's for ever engraved in our relationship."
Looking ahead, Cornish plans to make her standup comedy debut next year and continues to create music. Though she's been given the all-clear, she acknowledges the cancer could return. "I've just got to hope it doesn't come back," she said. "And if it does, then we'll fucking deal with that when we get to it."
Jessie J's new studio album Don't Tease Me With a Good Time is out now.
