“I heard a big crack” — Jason Derulo recounts breaking his neck in a near-fatal gym accident

Jason Derulo recently shared the details about a serious accident in the gym in 2012, which nearly killed him. He opened up about the incident during an appearance on Paris Hilton’s podcast, I Am Paris on Monday, July 1, 2024. The singer recalled the accident that led to his neck injury and almost the end of his life. He recalled:

"As soon as it happened, I heard a big crack, and I was just like, ‘Holy s**t, is this it? Is this how it all ends?’ And all the thoughts that you could imagine are going through my head at the time."

This accident occurred when Derulo was in the preparation process for his European tour in 2012. Following the directions of his trainer, he was then directed to do back tucks, which are back flips where the person has to jump backward and land on the back of their hands, before pushing off the ground to get back on their feet.

However, in one of these workouts, Derulo tripped and landed on his head, which resulted in the fracture of his C2 vertebrae. Derulo stated in the podcast:

"He had me doing like 50 back tucks back to back to back, which is another one of the worst ideas somebody’s ever had. So I slipped during one of the back tucks and I landed on my head, breaking my C2 vertebrae."

The severity of the injury forced the cancellation of his Future History World Tour. Derulo had to wear a neck brace for 3 months and was out of action for a total of 7 months. The incident was a significant setback, as the tour was slated to be the biggest of his career at that point.

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Jason Derulo's struggle and recovery post-accident

In the moments following the accident, Jason Derulo remembered his mother waiting for him in the car outside the gym. Determined to prevent her from worrying, he made a massive effort to downplay his injury. He shared on the podcast:

"I did not wanna alarm her, so after five minutes of laying on the ground, I got myself together and walked to the car holding my neck. And then I’m like, ‘Mom, I think I hurt myself a little bit’ — like with that bright kind of voice — ‘I think I hurt myself a little bit inside, we should probably go to the hospital just to check it out.’"

Despite his efforts to remain calm, the ride to the hospital was excruciating. Derulo explained:

"Now every single bump [in the car] feels like hell on Earth. I’m just dying in that passenger seat, but I don’t wanna let her know that."

Once Derulo arrived at the hospital, X-rays and some other tests were then performed on him. The doctor told him that there was good news and bad news. The good news was that Derulo had a hangman’s break, the same break that occurs during hanging, and he was still alive.

The doctor explained that it could have been much worse, potentially resulting in paralysis or even death. The good news was that Jason Derulo was still able to move all his limbs. However, the bad news was that he would be out for 7 months. Jason Derulo said:

"I had to let all these people down. I know how much this means to people, people save their money, their hard-earned money, and they wanna be part of this experience. All of a sudden all of that s**t was down the drain."

During his recovery, a strict routine was developed by Jason Derulo to aid his healing and keep his spirits high. He created a routine for himself, waking up in the morning, going to the gym to walk for about 45 minutes a day, and then spending hours in the studio.

This routine, kept up at the same time and place every day, resulted in his highly successful Talk Dirty album, which included hits like Talk Dirty, Other Side, Marry Me, and Wiggle.

Derulo attributed the success to the consistency and discipline of following a routine, emphasizing that amazing things happen when he is able to adhere to a structured schedule. Jason Derulo's resilience and dedication during his recovery led to the creation of one of his most successful albums.