Lionel Richie left his fans concerned after he was forced to bring the first concert of his new tour to a halt after falling ill mid-performance on Wednesday.
The 77-year-old hitmaker was performing at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, as the start of his joint Sing A Song All Night Long tour with Earth, Wind & Fire when he announced an unusual intermission after a performance of Three Times A Lady from his piano, according to Minnesota’s Bring Me The News.
Richie’s band reportedly also left the stage minutes later, but more than 30 minutes after he cut off the show, a band member returned to announce that he wouldn’t be able to return because he was feeling ill.
On social media, fans who attended the show shared their concerns and revealed that the singer had signaled throughout the performance that he wasn’t feeling well.
Videos of him performing showed the singer appearing to sway uncontrollably during the concert, and he reportedly told the crowd that he was feeling ‘dizzy’ while performing the second-to-last tune of his abbreviated show, Dancing On The Ceiling.
Richie was also reportedly unable to get through the song without sitting down multiple times, before performing what ended up being his last song of the evening while sitting on his piano bench.
Lionel Richie, 77, left his fans concerned after he was forced to bring the first concert of his new tour to a halt after falling ill mid-performance on Wednesday; pictured on American Idol
Richie was performing at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, when he announced an unusual intermission after a performance of Three Times A Lady from his piano, according to Minnesota’s Bring Me The News. After more than 30 minutes, a band member said he was ill and wouldn’t return; pictured May 15 in Grand Rapids, Michigan
A fan who attended the concert told the publication that Richie ‘said he has been in this business long enough, if you feel dizzy you sit down! And if you don’t feel right, you sit down!’
One video posted on X on Wednesday night showed a portion of his Dancing On The Ceiling performance in which he appeared unsteady as he walked across the stage, before he made an unexpected stop and sat down on the edge of a large stepped platform.
Despite apparently feeling unwell, Richie appeared to be singing throughout his seated portion of the song, rather than relying on a guide vocal.
Richie was seated for less than 10 seconds before he stood up and started making his way across the stage again.
However, less than 30 seconds later, he stopped to sit down again on the risers on the opposite side of the stage, even as he continued singing.
The first half of the concert featured a performance from Earth, Wind & Fire, while Richie took the stage for what would have been the second half of the evening.
The music icons are currently scheduled to visit 26 cities through August 14.
Videos of him performing showed the singer appearing to sway uncontrollably during the concert, and he reportedly told the crowd that he was feeling ‘dizzy’ while performing the second-to-last tune of the abbreviated show; pictured on American Idol
More than 30 minutes after he left the stage, a band member reportedly told the audience that Richie had to cancel the rest of the show because he was feeling unwell; pictured April 29 in NYC
