Jessie J

With her big voice, big personality and even bigger energy, Jessie J is the kind of artist who always breaks away from the pack—and that’s true even when the pack consists of the superstars who recorded her songs before J’s own career took off at the beginning of the 2010s. Born Jessica Cornish in London in 1988, Jessie J first began performing in musical theatre when she was 11 and garnered industry interest for her singing and writing while in her teens. After having success with songwriting credits like Miley Cyrus’ “Party In the U.S.A.”, Jessie J enlisted hitmakers like Claude Kelly (Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson) and B.o.B to help build a buoyant, engaging yet sometimes intimately personal brand of pop that incorporated elements of hip-hop, dance and R&B. The result was six straight Top 10 singles in 2011 and 2012, as well as her first Top 10 hit in the U.S. with the exuberant “Domino”. She made an even more dramatic impact with 2014’s “Bang Bang”, a fierce statement of purpose not just for Jessie J but her two illustrious partners on the track: Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. In the years that followed, health struggles threatened to sideline Jessie J but she powered through with releases like 2018’s R.O.S.E., on which she ventured beyond her pop-anthem sweet spot for adventurous forays into neo-soul and alt-R&B.