04.22.08
Jordin Sparks’ Vocal Cord Hemorrhage
While browsing Yahoo! News this morning, I learned that 2007 “American Idol” winner, Jordin Sparks, cancelled three shows this weekend, including an opening night spot on Alicia Keys’ concert tour. The article cited “acute vocal cord hemorrhage” as the cause for Ms. Sparks’ cancellation. It also asserted that after a brief period of vocal rest, Ms. Sparks will be singing her heart out on a breakneck schedule once again.
After reading the article I realized that it gave no indication of what “vocal cord hemorrhage” is, or of what causes it. So, let me break it down:
Hemorrhaging of any kind is bleeding. vocal cord hemorrhage is exactly what it sounds like: bleeding vocal cords (not pleasant any way you look at it.) Luckily for Ms. Sparks, there’s not much blood involved in your average vocal cord hemorrhage - it’s more about open wounds on the vocal cords than it is about major blood loss. The vocal cords begin to bleed when they are exposed to exessive phonotrauma, or the physical stresses caused by making sound with your voice. Extreme examples of phonotrauma are voicing too loudly (e.g. screaming), voicing too often for long periods of time (e.g. a rigorous performing schedule) or voicing when the vocal cords are fragile (e.g. while swollen). Really, the vocal cords are the same as the rest of the body - if you expose your fingertips to overuse, prolonged use, or use when they’re worn raw, you can expect them to bleed, too.
And so, with her vocal rest, Ms. Sparks will avoid any and all voicing (singing, speaking, whispering, etc) so that the open wounds on her cords can heal completely. Of course, this should lead us to question the performance, rehearsal, and recording schedule that caused this poor woman to literally sing until she bled. We must remember that our vocal cords are fragile and irreplaceable, and treat them with the appropriate respect. And primarily, I hope that Ms. Sparks’ managers and producers share in this appropriate respect so this might not happen to her again.
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