Singer Jessie J has performed her first show since breast cancer surgery. The Price Tag singer announced in early June that she had been diagnosed with early breast cancer.
The 37-year-old was due to tour the UK and Europe in October and perform shows in US in November but last month said in a post on Instagram that the dates have been rescheduled or cancelled. The UK and Europe dates have been postponed until April 2026, the singer said, but the US tour has currently been cancelled.
The mum-of-one underwent her first breast cancer surgery in June, and last month revealed that her hair “has been falling out like crazy” since her operation.
Today, Saturday September 6, Jessie, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, was introduced to the main stage at BBC’s Radio 2 in the Park in Chelmsford on Saturday by actress Dame Elaine Paige.
In August, she revealed she had to undergo a second surgery before the end of the year. Before her performance today, the artist said: “This is the biggest acoustic show I’ve ever done before in my whole career.
“Some of you may know, some of you may not know, but I had breast cancer surgery 11 weeks ago today and the last show I did, I had no idea what was going to happen – and I’m still very much in the recovery process.”
She continued: “I’m just so grateful to be here. You have no idea how grateful I am to see so many of you singing along. After all these years, it truly feels like I’m a little kid, still doing what I love.
“And another special thing that’s happening today is that my son is seeing me sing on stage for the first time. In my head, all of us are related.
“So can we just go with that, that we’re like, at a family barbecue or something, and we’re all cousins, and I’m very aware that my voice is going to get more and more Essex as this goes on.”
Before singing her new song, Living My Best Life, Jessie said: “I was diagnosed literally two weeks before this song was released, and everyone said ‘let’s stop, let’s just put everything on hold’. And I said ‘that’s not what life’s about. Life is about standing in the storm but holding up your umbrella, and just keep moving forward.”
She has battled with ill health throughout her life, having been diagnosed with a heart condition at age eight, suffering a minor stroke at aged 18 and having briefly gone deaf in 2020.
The singer-songwriter has had three number one songs in the UK singles chart with Domino, Price Tag and Bang Bang.
She was awarded four Mobo awards in 2011, including best UK act, best newcomer, best song for Do It Like A Dude and best album with Who You Are, and won the Brit Award for rising star in 2011.