Grammy-Winning Singer Muni Long Receives Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant After One-Week Prognosis
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Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Muni Long underwent a double lung transplant after physicians told her she had only one week to live without the procedure.
Long developed pneumonia (search) while on tour and woke up in a hospital facing a stark choice between hospice care and receiving donor lungs.
Six months post-transplant, Long reports she is asymptomatic with no infections and has also undergone vocal cord surgery with positive results.
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Muni Long has revealed that she underwent a life-saving double lung transplant after physicians informed her she had just one week left to live. The 37-year-old artist, known for hits including "Made for Me," shared her harrowing health journey in an interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America on Tuesday, June 23.
Long's medical crisis unfolded after she joined Brandy and Monica's 2025 The Boy Is Mine Tour. While on the road, the demands of touring took a severe toll on her health, and she developed pneumonia (search). "I should have never taken that tour. But there was so much going on in my life where I had to do it," Long acknowledged during the interview.
A Tour Cut Short by Respiratory Crisis
Long described the progressive deterioration she experienced while performing. "I couldn't even get out of the bed to make my call time for stage," she recounted. During her final show on the tour, she managed to perform only two songs before being forced to depart early. "I barely made it," she said.
The singer had been experiencing troubling symptoms long before the acute crisis. "I knew for a really long time that something was wrong. Every day I'm, like, spitting in cups and coughing all the time," she explained. "Trying to take all these medicines to get through the day. With this industry, you're always in people's faces. So, I'm taking pictures, and I'm just huffing and puffing like I just ran a marathon."
After pulling out of the tour and returning home for the Thanksgiving holiday, Long's condition worsened dramatically, and she woke up in a hospital facing an unimaginable decision.
A Stark Ultimatum
At the hospital, medical professionals delivered a sobering prognosis. When Long asked how long she had to live without intervention, the answer was blunt: "A week."
"My jaw dropped. Literally. I was like, 'That's rude.' But they were kind of like, 'This is not a joke. You need to make a choice. You can either go to hospice or you can get these lungs,'" Long recalled.
As a vocalist, Long grappled with the potential impact of a double lung transplant on her career. "The ego and the vanity was just like, 'But what about my voice? What's going to happen?'" she admitted. Ultimately, the decision came down to a deeper priority. "But then I look at my son, and I think about how much more life that I have to live. Quality of life was first. I can't sing if I'm not here," she said, acknowledging she had confronted her "own mortality."
Recovery and Outlook
Six months following the procedure, Long reports a remarkably positive recovery. "I'm doing fabulous. I'm six months post-op. Tomorrow is my last appointment for all the things. No symptoms. Asymptomatic. No infections. None of that," she stated. She also disclosed that she required vocal cord surgery, with a six-month vocal checkup scheduled for August.
Long has been able to sing following both the transplant and vocal surgery, and she says her voice sounds "amazing." However, the timeline for returning to live performance remains uncertain, with doctors indicating it could take anywhere from six months to a year before she is cleared to perform. In the meantime, new music is on the way.
Living with Lupus (search)
Long has been candid about her decade-long struggle with lupus (search), an autoimmune condition that has profoundly affected her daily life. She previously shared on Threads: "Lupus really be having EVERYTHING hurting. Like bro how tf I got on tights and they are hurting the skin on my legs. Like it's throbbing down my leg. I didn't even know that was possible. Sometimes it hurts to have clothes on. And this is almost every day I gotta deal with this."
The two-time Grammy recipient is an accomplished songwriter who has co-written major hits including "California King Bed" by Rihanna, "Worth It" by Fifth Harmony, and "Timber" by Pitbull featuring Kesha. She has released four studio albums, most recently 2024's Revenge, which earned a nomination for Best R&B Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.