You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was told she had breast cancer.
The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her youth, already making her debut performing in the West End in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
