I asked her, would she now - three years on - still tell the girls that she wishes to “empower” to do it like a woman, or at least a ‘dudette’?
“No,” she replied, sticking to her guns. “I think I would definitely still go on stage and say ‘we can do it like you’ [the men]. The song is about saying: don’t try and undermine us as women; we can do it just like you.
“Like, I’m sitting at the same awards ceremony tables. I’m going to the same massive meetings. I’m performing at the Olympics with all these guys. You know, as a woman, it is tough to get to the top – like to get to that respected level in this industry – in any industry I think.”
Jessie J chose to depart so she could focus on making her second album and she seemed to set a trend. But I
think her experience of being the only female judge and the different treatment she received in the editing suite, because of that factor, is something other TV shows should learn from – or at least consider – especially as she feels many entertainment programmes do this to their female stars.
“The diva thing [me being shown as a diva – routinely turning up late] on the show made me laugh,” she explained. “Because who [which female presenter] hasn’t had it? I spoke to Tulisa about it and Kelly Rowland and Nicole Scherzinger [all previous X Factor judges], I know all of them. They all had the same thing. No one spoke about Danny, Will or Tom when they were late – but we were all late – some days. Like we all are for work sometimes. But it’s just one of those things - it is what it is.”
While she admitted that being the only female judge did make her pause for a moment and wonder whether she was up to the job, what with so much pressure on her to deliver, Jessie J’s somewhat phenomenal self-belief carried her through.
However, we Brits, especially us women from Blighty, aren’t very good at blowing our own trumpets. So how does Jessie J manage to have such conviction and avoid the arrogant trap?
“There is a thin line [between being confident and being arrogant],” she volunteered.
“I think I do [seem arrogant] and I’ve had to accept that. I think being nice and being safe is unfair to yourself when you have big dreams as a woman. I think you have to prepare yourself that not everyone in this world has the same personality... The one thing I’ve chosen to be great at in my life is singing – so why not be proud that I’m great at it?”
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