Wes Nelson reveals secret battle with career-threatening health condition ahead of music comeback

The Sun

a day ago

MUSIC star and Love Island legend Wes Nelson has been quietly undergoing treatment to save his voice.
The talented 27-year-old has spent the past five years working relentlessly on his music, writing hundreds of songs and performing countless shows.
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However, his voice box paid the price for his work ethic and he was diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia.
The condition, which is often caused by excessive muscle tension, can alter the sound of the voice, making it tire quicker and high notes more difficult to reach as well as causing pain in the neck and while speaking.
Fortunately, Wes has worked with doctors to get back to a place he can perform to a live audience and this Friday he makes his official comeback at Battersea Power Station for a gig to celebrate Lipton's Kombucha.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Wes said: "I had muscle tension dysphonia, which is not great, and can really mess up some people's careers but I've got it, I manage it and it works and it's fine now.
"I've been going through vocal therapy so my voice has been up and down in terms of vocal health and I've really been focusing on music.
"It's got so much better over this past year where I've been seeing different experts having a cameras up my nose and down my throat, it's a lot of depth and it has been tough to say the least, but we're back now.
"It was a scary time. It just had to be addressed when I did so it didn't get out of control."
Prior to his diagnosis, Wes felt blessed to be able to sing on command with little prep work needed to be performance ready.
But his relaxed approach to his craft eventually caught up with him after a gruelling run on the road.
"I think it initially started from doing like three tours in one year," he said. "Which was a lot of singing, and then I was recording hundreds of songs in that year as well so it was just overuse and not necessarily warming up and doing the right things.
"People forget that some people can just get up and sing and I was one of the people who used to get up and sing and it didn't really matter and I sort of neglected that and abused that ability really because then you start to take a toll on your voice."
However, he's smiling and raring to go once again with a summer anthem designed to get people up on their feet.
Kombucha-cha is a conscious effort to get shy Gen-Zers moving after a new study found 68 percent didn't feel confident enough to get up and have boogie.
And for Wes, his tie to Lipton's is personal. He has fond memories of stopping off at a chippy in Newcastle in his schooldays to pick up food and a refreshing Lipton's Ice Tea.
He said: "I don't think people are dancing enough now. What's more summer dance than a cha-cha-cha? I did it in a villa. I do it every night. I do it on stage.
"For me, this is summer in a bottle. So, I wanted to replicate that and get people dancing and moving with the track."
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Wes's moves saw him finish as runner-up on Dancing On Ice in 2019 and though reality TV hasn't been on his radar since 2022's The Games, he's willing to make a return for Strictly Come Dancing.
He told us: "I have thought about it because I honestly think my hips don't lie and I do want to inspire people.
"If the opportunity ever arose to go on Strictly and do some bits like that I'm sure I'd seriously, seriously consider it. Give me some shiny shoes and I'm all over it."