TikTok chart topper Cat Janice, who released the viral single ‘Dance You Outta My Head’, has died

Cat Janice, who inspired the TikTok community after releasing a hit single from her hospice bed, has passed away. The 31-year-old singer-songwriter died on February 29, two years after she was initially diagnosed with cancer.

Janice, whose real name was Catherine Ipsan, attracted an audience on TikTok by sharing her music with more than two million followers. Her family shared the news of her death on her Instagram account. “We are eternally thankful for the outpouring of love that Catherine and our family have received over the past few months,” reads the post. “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.”

In July 2022, Janice announced that she was cancer-free, but her sarcomas returned the next year. At the start of 2024, she updated her fans from a hospice bed and said that her cancer “has won.” To bring “joy and fun” with her final song, she released “Dance You Outta My Head,” which reached the top of the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart in February. Janice transferred the rights to her catalog to her seven-year-old son Loren, who became the beneficiary of “Dance You Outta My Head” royalties.

@cat.janice Thank you for loving me. Im praying a miracle makes me through this but I think im 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 im leaving behind. Please please share this, I need to leave this with him. If there is anything you need to know, is that the only opinion of yourself is your opinion. Love yourself and be gentle with others. I hope to make it through this but if not, to all a good night. #cancer #songwriter ♬ Dance You Outta My Head – Cat Janice

Janice’s debut album, Modern Medicine, came out last year. Her husband, Kyle Higginbotham, told the New York Times that the legacy of her music will keep her spirit alive. “It’s not just, some girl made a song because she’s dying of cancer,” he said. “Cat’s a real-deal artist and poured every minute of her life into it, right up until the end.”