Catherine Janice Ipsan (January 20, 1993 – February 28, 2024), known professionally as Cat Janice, was an American singer-songwriter. Janice wrote and sang "Dance You Outta My Head", which went viralonTikTok.
Catherine Janice Ipsan was born on January 20, 1993, in Northern Virginia and was raised in Annandale, Virginia.[3][4][5][6] Janice learned to play violin and piano at the age of six.[7][8][9] She had 14 years of classical training, during which she joined an orchestra, jazz bands, and theatrical productions.[10] She started writing her music around the age of 12, and she later taught herself how to produce her own music.[7][11]
Janice released her first album, with her singing and playing piano, in 2014.[8] Her second album, Fire, was more Southern rock and was released the next year.[8] In 2019, Janice won a Washington Area Music Award (WAMMY) in the category of Best Rock Artist.[11] Janice's song "Pricey" appeared in an episode of "Selling Sunset" in 2020.[7] Another song of hers appeared on the Country Music Television show "Redneck Island".[11]
After finding a lump in her neck in 2022, Janice was diagnosed with a sarcoma, a rare, aggressive type of cancerous tumor that affects the bone marrow, in her scalene muscle.[7][12][13] At the time, Janice was working as a geospatial information scientist, taking classes toward a master's degree in coastal geology, and writing and singing her own music.[3][9]
Janice had surgery to remove the tumor and had chemotherapy.[7][8] Janice worked on her album, Modern Medicine, while under treatment.[7] Janice wrote the song "Wishing I Was You" about her cancer and chemotherapy.[2] Her son appeared in the song's video.[14] Her song "Chill the Fck Out", released in January 2023, is about struggling with stress and feeling overwhelmed.[10] The following year, Janice's doctors said she was free of cancer, but a few months later the cancer metastasized to her lungs.[7] Janice restarted chemotherapy, and she released "Modern Medicine" a few months later.[7] She performed with SOJA at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in the summer of 2023.[14] Janice became engaged to her partner Kyle Higginbotham that August, and the two married that December, knowing her time was short.[3]
Janice released her song "Dance You Outta My Head" on TikTok on January 19, 2024, four days after beginning hospice.[15][16] Co-written with Max Vernon, the song is about being one's absolute best, going out, and deciding to just dance troubles out of one's head.[14] Janice decided to release the song independently, rather than through her usual recording label, to release the song more quickly.[3] Online she wrote, "I think I'm being called home. My last joy would be if you pre-saved my song 'Dance You Outta My Head' in my bio and streamed it because all proceeds go straight to my 7-year-old boy I'm leaving behind."[7] Janice transferred the rights to all her songs to her son.[4][17] The song was inspired by a line, "Dance until you love me", that she and her son randomly sang over and over while on a drive one day.[3]
Two weeks after being released, "Dance You Outta My Head" charted at number 37 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.[1] The song also debuted at number 2 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales and number 11 on the overall Digital Song Sales chart.[1] It reached number 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 on February 17.[18]OniTunes, the song reached number 7 worldwide, number 1 in Romania, Ireland, and the Czech Republic, and number 12 in the United States.[2] The song won the Robert Allen Award from the ASCAP Foundation.[19]
Janice died of cancer at home in Annandale on February 28, 2024, at the age of 31, surrounded by her family.[20][21][22] Her brother shared on Instagram that additional projects created by Janice would be released posthumously with her consent.[20][23]
"Starry Night (Loren's Lullaby)", a lullaby for her son Loren, was her first song released posthumously, on March 8.[24]
