'Being that sick made me Jessie J': The Voice Australia coach says teenage stroke and heart condition set her on path to stardom

She's a multi award-winning chart topper who has brought her global stardom to Australia as a coach on The Voice. 

And Jessie J attributes the strong willed personality and determination responsible for her international success to her experiences dealing with illness at a young age.

'It's affected me my whole life,' the 27-year-old British musician has told Sonia Kruger in an interview on Mornings, making reference to a heart problem she has had since her infant days and a stroke she had when she was a teenager.

'I had a minor stroke when I was 17,' she said in the sit-down chat with fellow The Voice Australia coach Ricky Martin beside her. 'The weirdest thing is that being that sick made me Jessie J.'  

 

'I'm very proud of myself and sometimes we have to say that and tell ourselves that. I've done a lot more than I thought I could.' 

Currently on Australian screens as a coach on The Voice Australia, the singer has been raising eyebrows for her outspoken personality and candid onscreen confessions. 

Wearing her heart on her sleeve, she even touched on her own health battles during a blind audition round recently, when wheelchair-bound Queenslander, Tim McCallum took to the stage. 

'I had a stroke when I was 17 and I lost the feeling on my right side of my body and I couldn't move for about three weeks,' she said just moments after Tim joined Team Ricky.

'When I hear stories like that and see the determination it puts into perspective how great you can be when you really put your mind to it.'

The singer revealed she had a heart condition in her 2012 autobiography Nice To Meet You where she explained her father, Stephen Cornish, also suffered from the heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome which means she has an irregular heartbeat.

Having experienced a stroke, she wrote: 'Apart from my right side being achy when I am tired and a trapped nerve I have had under my arm ever since, I’m fine.'

'My health isn’t as bad now as it was before. Nowhere near. But there are still moments when I have to make sure I’m looking after myself and not pushing myself too hard. I have to be realistic.

'So now when I’m tired I have to rest, I take vitamins and look after myself as much as I can. It’s hard to remain well 24/7 and when I do get sick, I will always be letting people down because I have work booked in every day. It’s the pressure of knowing you can’t be replaced.

'If my drummer is ill, someone else can come in for a few shows. If I get sick I can’t send in a lookalike!'

Last month the singing superstar had to cancel a string of concerts across the UK due to a mystery illness, for which she spent time in hospital recovering. 

The musician, who had been traveling non-stop for her Sweet Talker world tour, said in a statement: 'After having an operation earlier this week, I am unfortunately suffering a longer recovery time than expected due to some problems that have occurred post the operation.'

She continued: 'I have been medically advised to cancel my shows this weekend. I am simply in no way to perform.

'I am really sorry to all my fans in Denmark, Bristol and Belgium and I look forward to seeing you all in the future. I am truly disappointed.'

Jessie is scheduled to jet Down Under later this year, to commit to her role as a coach on The Voice Australia.