Sonique, the singer behind the dance anthem It Feels So Good, has survived a terrifying breast cancer battle and is still performing at the age of 61. The London-born star, real name Sonia Clarke, topped the UK charts for three weeks in the early summer of 2000 with her hit single, which became the third best-selling single of that year.
Before her solo success, Sonique found fame with dance band S'Express in the early 1990s. She gave up DJing to focus on singing and won the 2001 Brit Award for British female solo artist. However, when her next album, On Kosmo, was repeatedly postponed in 2006, it failed to chart in the UK when it finally went on sale.
Cancer diagnosis and recovery
Sonique was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2009. She had been DJing in Miami when she first noticed a lump in her left breast. "It was smaller than an old half-pence piece, but it protruded," she told the Mirror at the time. "It wasn't painful and I was convinced it was a cyst that would go away in a couple of weeks."
After delaying a check-up for around four months, a routine appointment raised concerns and she was referred to a specialist. "When they say it, your life is completely blown away," she explained. Before she could process the news, she was due to DJ at an event in Poland. "I secretly cried in front of 5,000 people," she admitted. "I looked at everybody out there, thinking, 'This could be the end of everything'. I felt real sad. But I smiled as if nothing was wrong."
The star underwent surgery shortly after the show, but further cancerous cells were discovered four days later, requiring a second operation. "I was at my lowest then," she explained. "I felt like I was losing it. When they said they'd have to open me up again, I felt so vulnerable." A third operation followed, along with intensive chemotherapy and preventative radiotherapy. Sonique got the all-clear from cancer in April 2010, saying: "It's all good and they've given me the thumbs up and all of that, so I'm just trying not to hang on to that whole thing now."
Career resurgence and recent appearances
Since then, the now-61-year-old has continued to DJ, tour and release singles, including Heart of Glass with Spanish DJ Wally Lopez in 2013 and Melody with Italian DJ Mauro Picotto in 2018. In March 2024, she sold out a show at London's Royal Festival Hall and later that summer performed a DJ set at Glastonbury. A reworking of It Feels So Good has topped 130 million streams on Spotify. At the end of 2025, she signed with Jive Global Entertainment Limited, which acquired worldwide rights to her catalogue.
In June this year, she posted a picture on Instagram at a polo event in Windsor Great Park, drawing compliments from fans. "You made one of the most beautiful songs ever, you co wrote it, co produced it, it's in the top 100 best songs ever made," said one person. Another added: "Head to toe perfection! Absolutely beautiful!!!"
Sonique has made several recent appearances, including festivals such as LeeStock in Suffolk in May and Cream Classics at the Henley Royal Regatta in July. The singer and DJ is believed to be single; her second-ever single, Sky, was dedicated to her stillborn son.
