Jason Derulo went through the "darkest time" in his life when he broke his neck
The 'Snake' singer was preparing for a tour in 2013 when he suffered an accident while training, and he's recalled instantly fearing the worst when he stumbled and felt a "huge heat" at the site of the injury.
24 January 2025
Speaking on the 'Great Company' podcast, he told host Jamie Laing: "My darkest time was definitely when I broke my neck, that was for sure the darkest.
"I was preparing for my tour and I was working on these back tucks for stamina. So, we're doing back-to-backs, we would stop for a while, take a break, and we'll do like 20, back-to-back and I slipped on one and I bailed.
"You're never supposed to bail, even if you slip, you're supposed to keep going. I bailed (and) fell on my head and I heard a crack and I was just like, 'Oh s***!' "
"I felt a huge heat in my neck and I was just thinking in my head like, 'Damn, what just happened? Did my life just end?'"
The 35-year-old star was rushed to hospital by his mother but despite his pain, he didn't want to worry her.
He recalled: "My mom was in the car... and I'm holding my neck like this just innately, you know, like this feels more secure. I'm like, 'Ma, I hurt myself a little bit inside. Let's just go to the hospital just to double check.' And I'm in excruciating pain, but I don't want her to know how bad my pain is.
"I'm sitting in the passenger side and every single bump that (my mum is) going on is like hell on earth, I've never felt so many bumps in my life."
Jason had X-rays done and was told by a doctor he had a hangman's break, "which is the same break that happens when you get hung."
The 'Make Me Happy' hitmaker was left fearing for his career as a result of the injury.
He said: "[The doctor said] 'This could've been way worse. You're gonna be down for seven months. Kiss your tour goodbye.'
"I didn't know what the rest of my life was going to look like. I didn't know whether I could take that time off. This was pretty early in my career... I was like, 'Did I max out?' "
Fortunately, Jason made a full recovery and despite having to cancel his tour, he went on to have the "most successful album" of his career because he used his downtime to pen his 2014 record 'Talk Dirty'.
He said: "During that time, the seven months that I had, I created a routine for myself for me not to get down on myself.
"(I) would wake up in the morning, I would go and walk on the treadmill for 40 minutes, and then I would get home.
"Then when I got home, I would literally spend at least nine to 12 hours in the studio. After the nine to 12 hours in the studio, I would have my meal, and then I would go to bed, and I would start all over again every single day, the same routine every single day.
"And that's when I made my most successful album, which had six platinum songs on it."
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