The American pop-singer Cat Janice died of cancer on February 28 at the age of 31, surrounded by her family in her childhood home in Annandale, Virginia. The tragic news was announced by the singer of the family, who also thanked the singer’s fans for all the love and support that Janice had received over the last few months of her life.
In the official statement released on the singer’s Instagram, her family wrote: “Cat saw her music go places she never expected and rests in the peace of knowing that she will continue to provide for her son through her music. This would not have been possible without all of you. Thank you.”
Cat Janice gained international attention after going viral on TikTok for dedicating her last song Dance You Outta My Head to her seven-year-old son. In the short clip that the singer has released on the platform in the beginning of this year, Janice attached a snippet to the song and said that her “cancer has won”. She her audience to pre-save and stream Dance You Outta My Head as much as possible, explaining that the proceeds will go to her son.
The song was inspired by a line, “Dance until you love me”, that she and her son were randomly singing over and over while on a drive one day. Since its official release, Dance You Outta My Head has become one of the most popular songs on TikTok and in the world, ranking number 1 in musical charts in multiple European countries.
In 2022 the singer has been diagnosed with a sarcoma, a rare aggressive type of cancerous tumour that affects the bone marrow. Despite having a successful treatment of a sarcoma in her neck and being declared free of cancer by her doctors in 2023, her condition worsened again a few months later, when the cancer metastasised in her lungs. Later that year the singer restarted chemotherapy, while continuing to release new music. Knowing that her time was short, Janice became engaged and later married her boyfriend Kyle Higginbotham in December that year.
Janice documented the last couple months of her life on TikTok, sharing her feelings about her terminal condition and videos with her son and her family. Online she stayed positive about her fate and would often engaged with her followers. Her last post on TikTok was a duet video of her reacting to a cover of Dance You Outta My Head by singer Sarah Cothran. Janice said: “Soon I will be free… soaring in the next dimension, glowing like a million fireflies, flying through the heavens, dancing with God and my Nonnie. This song reminded me that’s coming.”
Until the very last moment Cat Janice continued to write and produce music. In the post made after her death her brother confirmed that there will be “some more art that she wants to share”. According to the information shared by her family, there will be a number of singles released posthumously “in due time”.
