<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  It&amp;#039;s hard to imagine Lycra-loving scene-stealer Jessie J as a behind-the-scenes player. But over the phone from London, between bites of takeout pizza, she explains how she first rose to prominence: writing hits for other singers, including Miley Cyrus&amp;#039; 2009 &amp;quot;Party in the U.S.A.&amp;quot;\u2014the tune that changed her tune. The song&amp;#039;s lyrics basically tell the story of J&amp;#039;s arrival in America, &amp;quot;apart from the line about being from Nashville,&amp;quot; says the 24-year-old Brit. &amp;quot;It originally said `Essex.&amp;#039;\u2009&amp;quot; J had opted not to record &amp;quot;Party&amp;quot; herself\u2014&amp;quot;I wondered, Is it cool enough?&amp;quot;\u2014never dreaming it would sell millions of copies and deliver a walloping wake-up call. &amp;quot;It made me want that feeling, to see my name at the top of the charts,&amp;quot; J says. Cut to 2011: With hook-laden urban-pop hits &amp;quot;Price Tag&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Nobody&amp;#039;s Perfect,&amp;quot; her front-and-center debut album, Who You Are, sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. J took home the year&amp;#039;s coveted Critics Choice prize at the Brit Awards (previous winners: Florence &amp;amp;amp; the Machine, Ellie Goulding, Adele). Justin Timberlake called her &amp;quot;the best singer out there right now.&amp;quot; J&amp;#039;s look melds the kitsch factor of Katy Perry with the sexy-tomboy verve of early Gwen Stefani: Cleopatra eye makeup and a trademark Anjelica Huston bob (in a spectrum of shades), plus a well-documented cadre of next-to-nude superhero catsuits (&amp;quot;I love them full-length, full-on, long sleeves, skintight,&amp;quot; she says). Her sound, however, nods to &amp;#039;90s R&amp;amp;amp;B artists TLC, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey. Crucially for the singer, this genre-bending combo is 100 percent her own. &amp;quot;It was a massive moment for me to say that I cowrote my whole album, and even wrote some of the songs on my own in my bedroom when I was 17,&amp;quot; says J, who maintains creative control with the determination of a veteran: When rapper B.o.B. recorded his cameo on &amp;quot;Price Tag,&amp;quot; she took five back-to-back flights to be in the studio in time to weigh in. Lyrically, J tackles tougher themes than her breezy sound and blithe song titles (&amp;quot;Do It Like a Dude&amp;quot;) might suggest. &amp;quot;Have you forgotten how/ You would make me feel/ When you drag my spirit down,&amp;quot; she sings on her fourth single, &amp;quot;Who&amp;#039;s Laughing Now,&amp;quot; addressing childhood bullies who threw stones at her because her complexion had a greenish cast brought on by medication for a congenital heart condition. (This led to a minor stroke when she was 18; today, J is in good health but still avoids drinking and smoking.) &amp;quot;I wondered if the song was too personal to put on my album,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;Then I thought, No, if I was 13 or even 35 and I looked up to an artist and they sang about something I was going through, it would help me deal with it.&amp;quot; J&amp;#039;s most recent victory has been landing the Christina Aguilera role on The Voice UK, the British version of the reality competition show. As someone who, despite recent accolades, spends hours every day doing exercises to strengthen her voice and expand its range, she appreciates the fact that the show is &amp;quot;all about the voice, not about the image, what you look like, or what your story is,&amp;quot; J says. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m excited about teaching people what I&amp;#039;ve learned and also learning from them.&amp;quot; Still, she harbors a few reservations. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m honored that people think I&amp;#039;m ready,&amp;quot; she says, &amp;quot;but I&amp;#039;ll be sitting there next to Tom Jones, who&amp;#039;s also on the show, thinking, Have I done enough to be here?&amp;quot;      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a14203/women-in-music-2012-jessie-j-654625/?click=smart&kw=ist&src=smart&mag=ELM&link=-SMT-ELM>