5 Singers Who Have Suffered Vocal Chords Injuries

Nigerian singer Tekno has opened up on his vocal injuries and how he spent millions ensuring that it is fixed.

The singer won’t be the first singer to have had to deal with vocal cords injuries as a couple of famous singers have dealt with this type of injury in their career.

Tekno speaking about this in an interview with Daddy Freeze said;

I went under the radar for a bit because I was sick and It all started at an event in Ghana, I performed with Wizkid and Davido but somehow I cracked my voice on stage that night. So when I got back to the hotel, I told my guys I didn’t want to go out again because I really injured my voice and just wanted to rest.

The next day, I had a show In Togo, I performed, still stressed the voice and came back to Lagos but it wasnt getting better, so I went to see a doctor, he put a camera down my throat but he didn’t really see anything so he just gave me anti biotics and said i should be fine in a week or two but I didn’t get better and by this time I had started cancelling shows.

So I decided to fly to London, saw the first doctor and he said ‘your vocal cord is just irritated’ he gave me drugs and said I should be fine in about two weeks, but nothing changed.

So I decided to fly to Los Angeles and again I saw the first doctor , he said the same thing. At this stage I was loosing my mind already because it didn’t make sense anymore, I couldn’t sing, I couldn’t talk, sometime they tell me to stay quiet for a week (laughs).

Some people around me started saying it may be from Ubi Franklin because my contract was going to expire in a few minths and he didn’t want me to sing again, some others said It could be Iyanya, someone else said It could be a girl, another person offered to take me to see babalawo, I was really getting frustrated. Someone even told me to buy a goat and three matchetes for sacrifice

This all happened over a period of like four months, no work, no recording, no performing, I was just spending money from hospital to hospital. Then I started doing vocal therapy and it got to a point i just thought doing a surgery was the best option.

I eventually flew to New York to see another doctor who promised me i’ll be fine and sing again. At this point, I had spent alot of money and done all sorts of weird and disgusting tests and scans.

The surgery option i opted for was the one that had to do with them putting a magnet inside my throat. The surgery was done by a robot, they cut me in five fdifferent places. After the surgery, I couldn’t move, i couldn’t breath, couldn’t sneeze. It was hell.

Here are 5 famous singers who have had to deal with vocal chord injuries.

Adele: The British singer had a Vocal haemorrhage and had to cancel a tour. She eventually did have surgery to fix the problem. Speaking months after the surgery she said; “My voice has its limits. If I go on a 200-date world tour, it would happen again.”
Sam SMith; the singer suffered bleeding vocal cords causing him to cancel tour dates. He recovered three months later. Speaking on the injury on his IG page, he said “My throat is looking bloody fantastic.”“Most of the performers that I care for, they know how to sing,” Dr Steven M Zeitels told EW in 2015. “More often than not, the injuries occur because of their unbelievable work ethic. I don’t think there’s an increase in injuries. I think it’s being diagnosed more frequently because of awareness.”“It’s amazing how many shows can be done in a row—that makes things more complicated today,” he continued. “Men speak from about 100 to 140 hertz, the number of times per second their cords collide, while women speak between 180 and 240 hertz. So there are more collisions and more potential for vocal lesions.”
Mariah Carey: Multi-award winning singer Maria Carey had issues with her Vocal nodules as well.
Celine Dion: Celine Dion dealt with weakness in vocal cord due to a viral illness.
R Kelly: In 2011, the R&B singer underwent emergency throat surgery. The surgery saw abscess on one of his tonsils drained.