What did you miss?
Jessie J bid a powerful, temporary goodbye to her fans attending Capital’s Summertime Ball — which took place on Sunday, 15 June, but broadcast on ITV1 on Sunday, 22 June — as she prepared for life-saving surgery.
Diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, the London-born popstar used her brief Wembley Stadium gig as a platform to share a touching message with the thousands there and millions tuning in at home.
Before slipping into her best-known track Price Tag, she listed all the things she’s grateful for.
What, how and why?
“Summertime Ball, today this show is my last show before I go and beat breast cancer,” began the singer (real name Jessica Cornish) during the ITV1 broadcast.
“So it’s so special to be here, you have no idea. I feel so proud to be from the UK and to be this honest person – we just say what we feel. With this being my last show before I go and have surgery, it’s the most special thing and I’m so grateful for this life, for you guys, for my career, for my son, my partner, my parents, my family, my band, my crew, my people.
“We are so lucky,” continued Jessie. “We have so much to live for, so much joy, so many things to do. It feels so special, so I wanna celebrate this song here with you right now. This song is called ‘Price Tag.'”
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The 37-year-old went public with her breast cancer diagnosis just a few weeks ago via Instagram.
“I want to share it with my fans and the people that care about me, and also I’m a sharer. I’ve always shared everything that I go through in my life,” she said in a video.
“Before ‘No Secrets’ came out I was diagnosed with early breast cancer. I’m highlighting the word early. Cancer sucks in any form but I’m holding on to the word early. I have been in and out of tests throughout this whole period.”
Making light of the situation, Jessie joked that it’s a “very dramatic way to get a boob job”, before announcing that she’d be disappearing “for a bit” after the Summertime Ball.
“I will come back with massive t**s and more music,” she added. “I know there are so many people that are going through this same thing and I’m honestly just reaching out to hold your hand and because I need mine held too.”
What else happened at the Summertime Ball?
Elsewhere in this star-packed music marathon was a reunion between Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff, who performed Gettin’ Jiggy wit It and Summertime together for the first time in years.
To celebrate Father’s Day — the show was actually recorded last weekend — Smith pulled his son Jaden out from the crowd and hugged him. “That’s my guy!” he smiled as the Karate Kid actor sauntered offstage.
Mariah Carey, who closed out the Summertime Ball with ‘We Belong Together’, spoke to hosts Jordan North, Siân Welby and Chris Stark backstage for a playful Q&A session too.
Answering a question on her own mythology – specifically whether it’s true that she doesn’t acknowledge the passage of time, the so-called ‘Songbird Supreme’ replied: “That is true. I just don’t believe in it.”
Apparently, Carey doesn’t “have a birthday” yet partakes in anniversaries, and when Stark facetiously asked her what would happen if they wanted to meet up later on (in terms of timings), the singer claimed: “We’d have somebody call you and figure it out.”
KSI, Reneé Rapp, Jade, JLS, Benson Boone, Myles Smith, Rita Ora, and Tate McRea all featured in the Summertime Ball lineup.
Capital’s Summertime Ball aired on ITV1 and ITVX.
