TikTok singer Cat Janice dies of cancer aged 31

TikTok singer Cat Janice has died aged 31.

The singer, whose real name is Catherine Ipsan, became famous after she released “Dance You Outta My Head” four days after being admitted to hospice in January this year.

In a statement on her Instagram page, Janice’s family announced the singer had passed away on Thursday (29 February) in her childhood home surrounded by her family.

They thanked her followers for their support, saying they were “eternally thankful for the outpouring of love”.

The viral star had been diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare cancer of the bones or soft tissue, in March 2022.

She kept her 1.9 million social media followers updated on her journey and was told she was cancer free after months of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. But she was told the disease had returned to her lungs in June last year.

“Dance You Outta My Head” became an overnight success, amassing more than 60 million TikTok views to date. The song topped the TikTok Billboard Top 50 and reached the top 10 of Billboard’s dance and electronic chart.

In a caption to the video she recorded from her hospital bed while wearing an oxygen mask and hospital gown, the singer said on 7 January:

“Thank you for loving me. I’m praying a miracle makes me through this but I think I’m being called Home,” she wrote.

“Love yourself and be gentle with others. I hope to make it through this but if not, to all a good night.”

The singer said her “last joy” would be if fans streamed her song to enable proceeds to go to her 7-year-old son, Loren, to which she had transferred the rights to her music.

In their announcement of her passing, Janice’s family said the success of the singer’s music had come as a surprise to her.

“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,” they wrote.

In one of her final messages to her social media, the singer shared: “I’ve got the rough news that cancer has won. I’ve fought hard but sarcomas are too tough. I reset all my music to go to my son.”

She explained how her tumours had “tripled basically overnight” but wanted her last song “to bring joy and fun”.

She added: “It’s all I’ve ever wanted through my battle with cancer.”

Janice’s husband Kyle Higginbotham said he hoped her career would be remembered as more than a “sob story”.

“It’s not just, some girl made a song because she’s dying of cancer,” he told the New York Times. “Cat’s a real-deal artist and poured every minute of her life into it, right up until the end.”