American Idol star Jordin Sparks is back at work, and playing down reports she almost lost her singing voice for good.

The Tattoo singer was ordered to rest her voice last month after it was discovered she was suffering from an acute vocal cord haemmorhage, which, in some cases, can lead to permanent vocal damage.

She cancelled a series of concerts, but returned to the stage last week and spent the weekend on the streets of Los Angeles shooting a new music video.

And Sparks insists her illness was never as bad as was reported.

She says, "They were saying I would never sing again, and I knew I could because, well, it's my throat. My career could have been in jeopardy if I hadn't done anything about it. But I knew something was wrong and that I needed to get it checked out."