What a difference nine years makes... The fresh-faced girl aged 15 who became Jessie J

By Alasdair Glennie
PUBLISHED: 00:36, 14 April 2012 | UPDATED: 12:39, 14 April 2012

Most of us squirm a little at snaps of our younger selves.
But Jessie J, whose carefully constructed image has helped propel her to pop stardom, may squirm rather more than others.
Before she adopted the trademark catsuits, heavy fringe and thick make-up, she was a fresh-faced suburban schoolgirl, as this photograph reveals.
The talent was already showing however. The 15-year-old had just been named best young pop singer on the ITV show Britain’s Brilliant Prodigies.
A decade later the singer, now 24, has become a household name on the BBC talent show The Voice.

In accompanying photographs Jessie J, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, looks the model of an innocent schoolgirl as she accepts the award from Bee Gee Robin Gibb – then tanned and healthy, long before his recent battle with colon and liver cancer.
With her neat brown hair, broad smile and simple jersey top, it is difficult to imagine she would one day become a style icon – and international star.


This week it was revealed that the Essex-born singer has amassed a £5million fortune on the back of her debut album Who You Are, which has sold nearly one million copies. She has also become the star of The Voice, luring many aspiring singers away from her fellow judges Tom Jones, Will.i.am and Danny O’Donoghue to join her coaching team instead.
The singer, who is known for her quirky and often raunchy fashion sense, reportedly refused the help of a stylist on the show, telling producers: ‘I don’t need any help getting dressed.’ In a recent interview she said: ‘If someone did my make-up and my hair, and dressed me and wrote my songs I’m just being a dummy. If someone dressed me, I wouldn’t feel like me.’

As a youngster, Jessie J attended a series of stage schools on Sundays while studying at Mayfield High School in Redbridge, Essex. She went on to study at the BRIT School in Croydon, where her fellow pupils included future superstar singer Adele and X Factor winner Leona Lewis.
One of her early mentors was Colin Putz, 51, who taught her at Colin’s Performing Arts Studios in Romford. She was in the same class as Frankie Sandford and Rochelle Wiseman, both of whom are now in girl group The Saturdays.
Mr Putz said: ‘She was a very quiet girl who didn’t really stand out, though she had an excellent voice. She could be mischievous at times, but she was always friendly.Winning the best young pop singer award was a special moment for her. She began to shine as a performer.
‘Back then, she hadn’t developed her trademark look. She was just a normal pupil. But her singing voice helped her shine.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2129557/Jessie-J-pictures-How-The-Voice-UK-judge-changed-fresh-faced-girl-megastar.html#ixzz1s6xo0O5W