Muni Long reveals life-saving lung transplant after canceling shows

KiMi Robinson, USA TODAYWed, June 24, 2026 at 12:30 AM UTC

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R&B hitmaker Muni Long is finally opening up about the life-threatening medical issue that forced her to cancel concerts last year.

The Grammy-winning "Hrs & Hrs" singer, 37, revealed in a June 23 appearance on "Good Morning America" that she underwent a double-lung transplant after dropping out as a supporting act for Brandy and Monica's The Boy Is Mine Tour on Nov. 29.

"I was really faced with my mortality," she told Robin Roberts. "Midway through [the tour] ... I got really sick. I got pneumonia, and I had to step away for a few dates."

Long said she initially felt compelled to return to the tour, but her condition continued to worsen.

"I've got to go back," she recalled thinking. But after performing several more shows, "I couldn't even get out of the bed to make my call time for the stage."

During her final performance before announcing her exit, Long said she was "only able to do two songs" before deciding to take a break.

"I came home for Thanksgiving, then I woke up in the hospital," Long said. Though she felt "so much better" following an unspecified procedure that stabilized her condition, her doctors announced she needed a lung transplant – otherwise, she said, Long had "a week" to live.

Long, who was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus in 2014, explained that she "knew something was wrong" prior to her hospitalization because "Every day I'm spitting in cups and coughing all the time and trying to take all these medicines just to get through the day."

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Half a year later, she said she's "doing fabulous." Long said she has not experienced negative symptoms or infections and will have a check-up in August in anticipation of vocal cord surgery.

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Muni Long's voice sounds 'better' after her lung transplant

The songwriter, who recently released her new single "Richest," said her upcoming releases will mark "the last music that was recorded before all of the things happened."

"So my voice now, it's totally different. It's actually better, should I say? But I don't know that I can perform yet," she continued, explaining post-surgery recovery was estimated to take six to 12 months. "I don't know what it's going to sound like when I open my mouth to try and sing a whole song."

Long previously detailed her pre-show regimen in an interview with USA TODAY, explaining tea with fresh ginger crystals, a good night's sleep and steering clear of stimulants like coffee and alcohol were key.

"I didn't used to take it as serious. I was just so stressed out and trying to do everything," she said. "Especially with having lupus, I was just inflamed, and I couldn't get the inflammation down, and I would lose my voice a lot."

She pointed out that on the morning of her breakthrough performance of "Made For Me" at the Soul Train Awards in 2023, she couldn't speak. It took a vocal coach two hours to bring her voice back to life.

"It's like you're an athlete. It's not a joke," she said. "So sometimes I even have to walk around with a sign or a sticky note on my shirt that says 'vocal rest.' Or I have hand signals [to show] I'm not talking. It's a very strict regimen."

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Muni Long reveals lung transplant after exiting Brandy and Monica tour

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