What happens when you lose your voice?
Photo Credit: Christian Bertrand Shutterstock
Fans of The Weeknd were not happy when he stopped his show mid-set at SoFi in Inglewood, CA. Likely, no one was more disappointed than The Weeknd, himself. A performing artist who has trained, rehearsed, and prepared for a show wants nothing more than to perform. There is such immense pressure on the singer in these settings that many force themselves to sing, even when they can tell their voice is not okay.
Forcing your voice leads to strain and vocal injury.
Though canceling a show is disappointing, the time he would’ve had to take off had he forced his voice would’ve been worse. Recovery from injury and surgery often takes a singer out for weeks, if not months.
What happens when you lose your voice?
There are a few reasons a singer might struggle mid-show to finish their show, which are the same reasons a non-singer may lose their voice after a night out.
Significant swelling
Voice use requires frequent contact of the vocal cords - specifically hundreds of contacts per second. This is why we refer to singers as vocal athletes. The demand for the tissue is very high and studies have shown that the forces and impact of a concert are equivalent to 3-6 miles of running.
In the same way that other sports result in swelling, vocalization does as well. As the singer is performing, swelling develops and may make singing difficult. Typically this will affect the top of the range because swollen cords struggle to vibrate quickly enough to generate a high pitch.
This becomes a problem more commonly if the singer goes into a show already swollen (i.e. from smoking, illness, reflux, allergies, or any other reason). In these cases, singers will get significantly more swollen throughout the show. This means that, while performing, the top of a singer’s range gets more difficult to access and they have to work harder. Training can substantially reduce this and optimizing health pre-performance also has a huge impact. But swelling begets more swelling so a swollen singer can get severely swollen during a show, making voicing challenging and risky.
Vocal cord bruising
The vocal cords may also get bruised during use. Sometimes called a vocal cord hemorrhage (a misnomer, because nothing is bleeding out), bruising can range from mild to severe. Symptoms range from difficulty navigating the top of the range to total voice loss. Given how quickly The Weeknd had symptoms, he most likely experienced a vocal cord bruise.
Some singers with mild bruising that is located in a good spot on the cord can perform even despite bruising but this should only be done in collaboration with a laryngologist.
Strobe image of mild vocal bruising. With support, a performer may be able to get through a show with a bruise like this.
Strobe image of severe vocal bruising. This singer has total loss of voice.
Ultimately not all voice issues require show cancellations but when a singer’s instinct tells them they are not safe to sing, we should celebrate their courage to advocate for themselves.
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Learn more about their expertise and services at the Center for Vocal Health.