Jessie J is getting candid about a medical issue that’s impacting her ability to do what she loves most.
On Friday (June 18), the 33-year-old British pop star broke down in tears on Instagram while softly singing part of her new single “I Want Love” for her speech therapist and detailing a painful throat condition that has forced her to take a break from singing.
“The first song I sang was ‘I Want Love,'” she wrote in a lengthy caption alongside the selfie video. “Just hearing myself sing it and feel so vulnerable whilst singing brought me to tears. I have never, ever to this day (since recording it) been able to sing it because of the pain I’m experiencing. Man, it’s been hard not singing.”
The “Bang Bang” star added, “It’s literally my life line and my happiness. Being quiet is not something I’m good at. Or makes me feel like myself. Lord knows I’m loud af. It was in that moment I knew I needed to be honest with myself and honest with you all about where I am at and explain what is going on… To be totally real, to have your support and love would help me get through this faster I’m sure.”
In December 2020, Jessie was hospitalized after being struck with Meniere’s disease, which left her temporarily deaf and unable to walk. Meniere’s is a chronic disease that can strike at any age, but usually starts between “young and middle-aged adulthood,” according to the Mayo Clinic. It can also be accompanied by ringing and a feeling of pressure in the ear.
In her Instagram Stories on Friday, Jessie went on to explain that she began experiencing other health issues following the incident.
“In February, I started to feel a burn in my throat constantly,” she wrote, according to People. “I ignored it for a bit as I presumed it was fatigue from the studio. When I went to see a doctor, I was told I have major acid reflux and nodules because I have continued to sing with acid reflux, which was probably caused by the steroids I had taken for my ear late last year.”
After months seeing doctors and various treatments, “I’m still in pain everyday,” she wrote. “With rest and little talking/singing the nodules melted away. Like Olaf in the sun. But every doctor has told me if I sing (especially these songs) the nodules will just come right back.”
See Jessie J’s heartfelt Instagram post here.
