Dance-pop star Kiesza says suffering a traumatic brain injury following a car accident led to an “intense process of self-acceptance” that’s changed her outlook on life.
The singer-songwriter’s world was turned upside down by the 2017 collision in Toronto, Canada that left her with a severe head injury that unfolded over time. Initially able to step away from the wreck, after five days of worsening symptoms such as ringing in her ears and balance issues, she went to hospital and was diagnosed with concussion.
But weeks later, she collapsed after performing a show in Denmark and her condition worsened, leaving Kiesza housebound and bedbound, struggling with nausea, dizziness and balance issues, along with the knock-on effect on her mental health, that left her questioning whether she’d be able to perform again.
“I had a six-year recovery, because I deteriorated – I got worse for a year and a half, and then I started getting better,” she recalls in RETROPOP’s June 2024 edition. Over the course of her recovery, she released her second album ‘Crave’ (2020), returning this year with the follow-up ‘Dancing And Crying, Vol 1’ – a project she plans to “take with me through my life and continue the story” with future instalments of the series.
With that comes a newfound perspective and appreciation for the things that matter, as Kiesza reemerges after facing up to her mortality. “I didn’t realise how attached I was to my own identity,” she sighs. “I was clinging to myself and trying to be that person that was so physically fit and full of energy, but I had to become selfish and take care of myself.
“I went through this whole intense process of self-acceptance, which I don’t think I ever would have had the opportunity to do had this not happened, and I really sat with myself and thought about the fact that when I got in the car crash, people that I thought were my friends didn’t even pick up the phone. All these celebrities and people I was hanging out with, they didn’t care.
“I have no hard feelings, but the fact is that I was choosing to put my time into people that wouldn’t have even cared if I died and it was the people that truly loved me that were there for me. When I realised that, I decided that I want to be surrounded by people that will be there and will come to help me when I need it, and I will be there for them.
“So that’s the world that I have now and that’s really what I’ve curated in my life. People that I really trust and love – and that give it back in return. That is the driving energy and the force behind all of the art that’s coming out. It truly is centred on love and passion and friendship and fun!”
