Jason Derulo Recalls Panic He Felt After 'Excruciating' Neck Injury: 'Did My Life Just End?'

Jason Derulo is reflecting on a difficult injury that nearly derailed his career — and could have cost him his life.

The singer, 35, suffered an acute vertebrae fracture in January 2012 while rehearsing for his Future History World tour in Miami. He ultimately wound up having to cancel the tour, as his injury was so severe it could have paralyzed him.

On a new episode of the podcast Great Company with Jamie Laing, Derulo recalled the moments leading up to the incident, saying he and his trainer were doing back tucks over and over again to build up “stamina.”

“I slipped on one and I bailed. And you’re never supposed to bail. Even if you slip you’re supposed to just keep going,” he said. “I bailed, fell on my head and I heard a crack. And I was just like, ‘Oh s---. Like, is this it? F---.”

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He continued, “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? Where am I?’”

Within seconds, Derulo was flanked by people telling him not to move, as is protocol for a neck injury. But after five minutes, he stood up himself, and his mom ultimately brought him to the emergency room.

“My mom was in the car… and I’m holding my neck like this just innately, you know, like this feels more secure,” he said. “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.”

The “Talk Dirty” singer said that every bump they passed on the drive to the hospital was “like hell on earth.” When he finally saw a doctor and had X-rays done, Derulo was told he had a hangman’s break, “which is the same break that happens when you get hung,” he explained.

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“‘This could’ve been way worse. You’re gonna be down for seven months. Kiss your tour goodbye,’” he recalled the doctor saying. “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?’”

The star said he eventually created a routine for himself to get through the recovery period, which included time on the treadmill and in the studio each day.

Derulo ultimately made a full recovery. He released his fifth studio album Nu King in February 2024, and in November, he and Jawsh 685 put out the song “Make Me Happy.”

“The new song, with ‘Make Me Happy,’ I just really just wanted to create a tonic for the world,” he said on the podcast. “I just felt like this song was such a feel-good record. That the vibe of the beat is just so good and feels really joyful.”

The star also teamed up with Nora Fatehi for the song “Snake,” which came out on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

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