A JERSEY singer who was ready to give up music after even speaking became painful has released her debut single after surgery and months of vocal rehabilitation.
Nina Rosa Pinto, a former Beaulieu and Hautlieu pupil, has released her debut single 16 as part of her forthcoming debut EP, Can’t Sing Like I Used To.
“16 is a song about exploring the contradiction of wanting to be older when you’re young, only to later wish you could be younger again,” she said. “It delves into the pressures of wanting to look better, sound better and become a different version of yourself.
“Drawing on memories that shaped my childhood, as well as my experience of finding my voice again after vocal surgery, the track reflects on how our formative years influence who we become and the thoughts that continue to stay with us.”
The 26-year-old singer first noticed a change in her voice in October 2021 whilst training as a principal study vocalist. Songs she had once sung effortlessly became difficult and she lost much of her upper range.
Initially diagnosed with vocal nodules and advised to rest her voice, Ms Pinto rarely spoke for three months, communicating instead through her phone or a whiteboard she carried with her.
Two years later, specialists ruled out nodules and recommended surgery to investigate. By then, she said, even speaking took effort and caused pain. Ms Pinto gave surgeons permission to operate on her vocal cords if they needed to.
“I was prepared to move on from singing,” she said. “It had been two years of hell, really, as singing was all I’d ever known.”
She said she learned that years of silent acid reflux had damaged and inflamed her vocal cords. She received steroid injections to reduce the swelling.
“Then came the vocal rehabilitation and therapy. I even had to relearn how to speak, as I had unintentionally been using my false vocal cords to compensate over the years of having the condition. It was finally time to break that habit,” Ms Pinto said.
“It was a long process, and I sounded super squeaky at first, but eventually things started to piece together again.”
She returned to the Royal Northern College of Music, where she had deferred her studies, and worked with her vocal tutor to rebuild her singing technique. She now lives in Manchester, where she also works as a vocal tutor herself.
Funding from ArtHouse Jersey helped her record the first three singles for her debut EP, Can’t Sing Like I Used To, which is due out in early February.
It brings together songs written before her diagnosis, during her recovery and after surgery.
“Through that, you can hear how my voice has changed,” the singer said. “Some of the melodic lines I wrote years ago are ones I’d struggle to get through now, and as time goes on, you can hear my melodies accommodating the voice I have today.”
Her second single, Man Of God, is due out on 18 November.
