Jessie J made an emotional return to the stage over the weekend, performing for the first time since undergoing breast cancer surgery earlier this year — and it was also the first time her tw0-year-old son got to see her perform live.
Taking the stage at BBC Radio 2’s In the Park festival in Chelmsford, Essex, Jessie told fans, “Some of you may know, some of you may not know, but I had breast cancer surgery 11 weeks ago today… I’m still very much in the recovery process, but I’m just so grateful to be here.”
Her gratitude hit even harder when she revealed her young son was watching from the wings, rocking protective earmuffs and waving at his mum before joining her briefly on stage. Jessie later posted footage of the moment alongside clips from her set.
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Before launching into her new single “Living My Best Life”, Jessie shared how deeply personal the track has become since her diagnosis. “I was diagnoses 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 is about,’ Life is about standing in the storm but holding your umbrella and just keep moving forward.”
She doubled down with a message to the crowd: “I’m living my best life every single damn day, ’cause we never know when our last day will be. So soak this up, hug the people you love hard.”
Jessie was diagnosed with breast cancer in June and underwent a mastectomy soon after, later confirming the cancer hadn’t spread. Complications sent her back into hospital six weeks later, and just last month she postponed her US, UK and European ‘No Secrets’ tour dates to undergo a second surgery before the end of the year.
“It’s nothing too serious,” she told fans at the time, “but unfortunately it falls right in the middle of a tour I had booked.”
