Jessie J, ‘Dancing With the Stars’: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

View this post on Instagram

#SweetTalktome #SweetTalker

A post shared by J E S S I E . J (@jessiej) on Oct 6, 2014 at 3:40pm PDT

Music artist Jessie J (Jessica Ellen Cornish) will be substituting for Len Goodman as a guest judge on Dancing With the Stars tonight. In addition, she’ll be performing for viewers live on the show. Prior to becoming her own artist, Jessie J wrote songs for stars including Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus.


1. Jessie J Is a “Sweet Talker”

Jessie J has been making the rounds on the morning shows in America lately in order to promote her new album “Sweet Talker.” USA Today reports that Jessie wasn’t always successful when it came to her album releases, writing:

She rocketed up the charts in 2011 with debut “Who We Are”, selling 350,000 copies in the U.S. and spawning top 40 singles “Price Tag” and “Domino” — only to fall into a sophomore slump when low-selling second effort Alive failed to land a U.S. release last year. Although she’s proud of the album, which she entirely co-wrote, she says she’s more open now to input … he album displays her confident and heartbroken sides, and was recorded in five weeks over a six-month span. Unlike “Alive,” for which she recorded 50 songs, Jessie cut just 20 for “Talker,” 15 of which will appear on the album and its deluxe edition.

Jessie is aiming for her music to carry on for a long time and she wants to stay away from what may just be trendy or short-lived.


2. She’s Been Defending Ariana Grande in the Media

There have been many reports and rumors in the media recently about Ariana Grande, saying that she’s becoming quite the diva. Jessie J spoke out to say that the rumors are not true. Jessie told Us Weekly that Grande isn’t a diva at all, just a girl who “knows what she wants.” Jessie J explained:

I always say, judge a person when you meet them. I’ve met Ariana, and there’s a very thin line between ‘diva’ and ‘survival.’ And a lot of people can’t [differentiate that] — and I’ve had that. I’ve had the diva stuff. And it’s when people can’t cope with how passionate you are, and how much you care … She’s super talented, she’s very young, and she’s very sure of what she wants. I think she’s wonderful. She’s great.


3. Her Bisexuality Has Been Criticized In the Past

In a radio interview in 2011, Jessie J admitted to dating both men and women, confirming her bisexuality. Three years later, Jessie took back the fact that she was a bisexual, stating that:

For me, it was a phase. But I’m not saying bisexuality is a phase for everybody.

She then received a lot of flack in the media and from fans, to which she responded firmly, writing an essay about her feelings:

Please tell me what I have done wrong here? I haven’t spoken of being bi for years. All my songs are sung from me about “him”. I didn’t discuss my personal life in my autobiography. Which came out 2 years ago. Reading “Jessie J comes out as straight” today, even typing that feels absolutely ridiculous. What has the world come to? Lol! Seriously, this is crazy. The media of course are going to make this a HUGE thing. Which they are. for your originality. But I won’t stand down and be made to feel like I have killed someone or said something that deserves the messages I am currently receiving. I did and still do stand for love who you love, whichever gender that is. And I will continue to stand for it and just not act on it because I don’t want to. It isn’t who I am. I see my fans becoming who they are and it’s amazing! Whatever sexuality they chose, or have chosen, love is love.

To read the essay in its entirety, click here.


4. Dancing Is in Jessie J’s Family Background

One might wonder why Jessie J qualifies as a judge on Dancing With the Stars. It just so happens that her mother was a ballet dancer. Jessie tells ABC News:

My mom was a ballet dancer. So the whole time when I was growing up, she taught me about lines, and just being elegant and [having] a pointed foot, not sickled [turned the wrong way]…[and] shoulders back.

As for learning from her mother, ABC writes:

Jessie J admits she’s tried to follow her mom’s advice when it comes to the whole “shoulders back thing,” but it’s tough. “I try my best ’cause I’m tall so I do hunch when I’m onstage, ’cause the audience’s always lower, so…I sing to them,” she explains. In addition to learning about dance from her mother, she also knows how to dance herself. The pop star grew up doing musical theater, and you can see her busting a move in her new video for “Burnin’ Up.”


5. She Has Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

View this post on Instagram

Can't wait for LA ??

A post shared by J E S S I E . J (@jessiej) on Oct 12, 2014 at 9:37am PDT

At 18 years old, Jessie J suffered a stroke as a result of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. She was diagnosed with the illness at age 11. Jessie opened up to the Daily Mail about when she first realized that something was wrong, revealing:

The very first time that something happened was when we were in Epping Forest. We were going back to the car after a day out and my dad said, ‘Race ya,’ so we started running but I collapsed. Because I could be quite dramatic and silly, my dad thought I was just messing about. But I couldn’t move and I couldn’t breathe.

Because her father suffers from the same heart condition, he has always been very helpful in dealing with it. Jessie talks about the troubles she had during her childhood because of her disease, explaining: For a lot of my childhood I was on beta-blockers (drugs which try to help your heart get into a proper rhythm). But the side effects meant I had low blood pressure. I remember collapsing a lot and having seizures. I was a sickly, skinny girl who had a slight green tinge to her skin because of the drugs and who was always in and out of hospital … My ponytail was about four strands of hair. Sad times. There was a handful of kids who were mean.

The definition of the disease is:

Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome (WPW) is one of several disorders of the conduction system of the heart that are commonly referred to as pre-excitation syndromes. WPW is caused by the presence of an abnormal accessory electrical conduction pathway between the atria and the ventricles … People with WPW are usually asymptomatic. However, the individual may experience palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, or syncope (fainting or near fainting) during episodes of supraventricular tachycardia.