You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about 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 start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already beginning performing in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group the group while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
