Jessie J 2015 [work] – Essential

Why does still matter nearly a decade later? Because it was a transition year. In 2015, Jessie J moved from being a manufactured pop product (her early work with Dr. Luke and Max Martin) to an artist with creative control. She co-wrote or executive produced every track she released that year. She fired her longtime manager. She dyed her hair brunette. She started talking openly about her heart condition (Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome) and her struggles with body image.

The defining, surreal image of Jessie J in 2015 is not a sold-out arena in London or a Grammy stage, but a brightly lit Shanghai television studio. In July, she performed a duet of “Flashlight” with a then-unknown contestant named Li Yundi on The Voice of China . The performance went viral, accruing billions of views and cementing her as a demigod in the Chinese market. From a commercial standpoint, this was genius. While her peers competed for Billboard chart positions, Jessie J quietly dominated a population of 1.4 billion. jessie j 2015

By December, the year-end lists were in: Why does still matter nearly a decade later

: This was the peak of the "Bang Bang" aftermath. Her collaborations with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj continued to dominate airwaves, while her solo hits like "Flashlight" (from Pitch Perfect 2 ) became anthems of 2015. Luke and Max Martin) to an artist with creative control