‘I need a hug’: Pop star Jessie J reveals cancer diagnosis

Jessie J, the much-loved singer and former coach on The Voice Australia, has shared devastating health news, saying she is going to “disappear for a bit”.

Pop star Jessie J has revealed she was diagnosed with “early breast cancer,” telling fans that she is going to “disappear for a bit” after her upcoming concert to undergo surgery.

The beloved singer and former coach on The Voice Australia, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, delivered the candid health update on her Instagram page.

“I was diagnosed with early breast cancer,” the Domino singer said. “I’m highlighting the word early. Cancer sucks in any form, but I’m holding onto the word early. I have been in and out of tests throughout this whole period.”

Jessie J has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Picture: AP

The Bang Bang singer learned of her diagnosis two months ago, just before her single No Secrets was released in late April.

“I just wanted to be open and share it,” she added. “One, because, selfishly, I do not talk about it enough. I’m not processing it because I’m working so hard. I also know how much sharing in the past has helped me with other people, giving me their love and support and also their own stories.”

The Grammy nominee even pointed out the irony of her health battle.

“To get diagnosed with this, as I’m putting out a song called No Secrets right before a song called ‘Living My Best Life,’ which was all pre-planned before I found out about this. I mean, you can’t make it up.”

The star says she learned of her diagnosis two months ago. Picture: AP

The Flashlight vocalist said she will undergo surgery and “disappear for a bit” after performing at the Summertime Ball in London on June 15.

Jessie J seemingly still has a sense of humour about the challenging situation.

“It’s a very dramatic way to get a boob job,” the songbird quipped.

The Billboard-charting artist also sympathised with others facing major health concerns.

“It breaks my heart that people are going through so much, similar and worse,” she said. “That’s the bit that kills me.”

The much-loved singer is retaining her sense of humour despite her ordeal. Picture: AP

“Just shared something super personal I’ve been holding onto for 9 weeks,” she later said on her Instagram story.

“The timing of it has been mad but also beautiful and has given me this incredible perspective in this time. But honestly, I need to process it and talk about it, I need a hug. You have loved me through all my good and hard times. And I don’t want this to be any different.”

A-HA SINGER’S SHOCK HEALTH UPDATE

It came as A-ha star Morten Harket revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The 65-year-old Harket said he had “no problem accepting the diagnosis”, adding: “With time, I’ve taken to heart my 94-year-old father’s attitude to the way the organism gradually surrenders: ‘I use whatever works’.”

A-ha are best known for their global hit Take On Me, from their 1985 debut album Hunting High and Low, and for the animated video, which has become a classic.

A-ha is Norway’s biggest ever musical export. Morten Harket (centre) has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Picture: Supplied

“Part of me wanted to reveal it. Acknowledging the diagnosis wasn’t a problem for me; it’s my need for peace and quiet to work that has been stopping me,” Harket said in a statement.

“I’m trying the best I can to prevent my entire system from going into decline.

“It’s a difficult balancing act between taking the medication and managing its side effects.

“There’s so much to weigh up when you’re emulating the masterful way the body handles every complex movement, or social matters and invitations, or day-to-day life in general.”

The news was announced on Wednesday local time on the Norwegian band’s official website in an article written by their biographer Jan Omdahl, which also revealed the singer had already undergone brain surgery twice.

Harket said he is unsure whether he still has a future as a singer.

“The problems with my voice are one of many grounds for uncertainty about my creative future,” he said.

Omdahl, who wrote the A-ha biography The Swing of Things, described how, on good days, Harket shows “virtually no sign of many of the most familiar physical symptoms of Parkinson’s” but still requires a “around-the-clock effort” to balance medication, signals from the electrodes in his brain, sleep, blood sugar and his mindset – to keep the symptoms at bay.

A-ha singer Morten Harket greets fans in Melbourne in 1986. Picture: Supplied

“This isn’t always successful, and is more like a never-ending rollercoaster ride,” added Omdahl.

Asked by Omdahl if he can sing now at all, Harket replied: “I don’t really know. I don’t feel like singing, and for me that’s a sign.

“I’m broadminded in terms of what I think works; I don’t expect to be able to achieve full technical control. The question is whether I can express myself with my voice.

Natalie Imbruglia, Morten Harket and Paul McCartney in 2001. Picture: Supplied

“As things stand now, that’s out of the question. But I don’t know whether I’ll be able to manage it at some point in the future.”

He added: “I see singing as my responsibility, and at certain moments I think it’s absolutely fantastic that I get to do it.

“But I’ve got other passions too, I have other things that are just as big a part of me, that are just as necessary and true.”

A-ha is Norway’s most successful pop export, selling more than 80 million albums around the world. They first toured Australia at the height of their fame in 1986 and only returned for a second time in 2020 alongside fellow 80s pop star Rick Astley a string of sold out shows.

Parts of this article originally appeared on the New York Post

Originally published as ‘I need a hug’: Pop star Jessie J reveals cancer diagnosis