You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment readying for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with her cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has entered the female band the group while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
