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Sean Kingston is back and better than ever.
On Tuesday, the singer sat down with MTV for his first televised interview since his May 29 jet-skiing accident. Kingston was visibly slimmer and discussed his recovery, how his lifestyle has changed and what’s next.
HOSPITALIZATION AND RECOVERY
Kingston was taken to the Jackson Memorial Hospital after crashing his jet ski into a bridge. He had a shattered wrist, a broken jaw and water in his lung. He says he took nutrients through a feeding tube for the first few days and had his jaw wired.
The “Beautiful Girls” crooner revealed that when he was ready to leave the hospital, he felt a sharp pain in his chest that he told doctors was a “9” on a pain scale of 0-10. The pain was the result of a torn aorta that had filled his lungs with blood and he was immediately given open-heart surgery.
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Complications ensued and Kingston was sent for a second open-heart surgery shortly after his first one.
During the early days of his hospitalization, Kingston could only communicate by writing things down. He told MTV this served him well in thinking about future songs and lyrics.
Kingston was on the pain medication Percoset but doesn’t take it anymore.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES
After losing weight during his recovery, the 21 year-old said he’s making a concerted effort to lose even more. He has a trainer, is watching what he eats and aims to lose 20 more pounds. He said, “My goal is just to get healthy as far as what my ideal weight has to be for my height.” Kingston is 6’3″.
Would he give up jet-skiing? Kingston says, “I’m definitely going to be jet-skiing again. I have to overcome my fear. It wasn’t the jet ski, it was not knowing the area.”
Kingston also said he has a renewed faith in god and now attends church every Sunday.
WHAT’S NEXT
Kingston returned to the stage on July 22 to join pal Nicki Minaj on their collaboration “Nutty Love.” It was first time he’d performed publicly since the accident.
Kingston says he’s “100% better” and “focused on music again.” He gave a shout-out to L.A. Reid, the new head of his label, Epic Records.
In response to a fan question about whether he’d write a song about his recovery, Kingston said he makes musically organically and doesn’t set out with a specific goal or topic in mind.
He said he’s “going in another direction with producer J.R. [Rotem]” on his next effort. “The whole reggae island pop thing. Going back to my roots. I’m back with him. I love him more than anything. We’re about to kill it, man.”
He’s headed to L.A. to start work on new material and will perform “spot dates.” He hopes to have a new single out by December.
Kingston plans to be a mogul in 25 years ala Jay-Z or Sean “Puffy” Combs. He says, “Five years from now what I want is more production and writing and give other artists time to shine.”
Asked if he could change anything about the day of the crash, Kingston said he’d “keep the tide steady, have the bridge a little bit higher.”
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