‘Pop legend’ Lionel Richie reports dizziness onstage during opening night of tour… abruptly halts show and is rushed to hospital

Pop star Lionel Richie (77) stopped the concert on the first night of his tour after abruptly telling the crowd he was feeling dizzy while onstage.

■ “Singing while seated for the first time in 39 years”

According to reports from foreign media on the 25th (local time), Richie took the stage for the opening show of the legendary band Earth, Wind & Fire’s joint tour, ‘Sing A Song All Night Long’, at the Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on the evening of the 24th.

The incident happened about 55 minutes after the show started. While Richie was energetically moving across the stage singing his 1986 mega hit, ‘Dancing on the Ceiling,’ he suddenly seemed to lose his center of balance and sat down on the floor of the raised platform high above the stage. He stayed seated until the end of the song, continuing to sing, then explained the situation to the audience with his signature wit.

Richie said, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned after all these years in the music business, it’s that whenever your head feels dizzy, you have to put your butt on the floor no matter what.” He added, “It’s the first time in history that I’ve ever sung this song while seated. Folks, this is a very bad sign,” conveying in real time that something was wrong with his body.

■ After the piano performance, a surprise intermission… and an ambulance eventually arrives backstage

With professionalism on full display, Richie immediately moved to the piano and played through the next song, ‘Three Times a Lady,’ finishing the performance. But as his condition reached its limit, he announced an unscheduled surprise intermission (break) to the audience, then left the stage behind the scenes.

When Richie still hadn’t returned after about 15 minutes, even the band members came down from the stage. Not long after, Dino Solodo, his dedicated saxophonist, went back onstage and officially announced the cancellation of the concert, saying, “Lionel Richie’s condition is not good enough for him to continue performing tonight.”

■ “Mild dehydration likely from nonstop touring”… fans breathe easier

The news that he was rushed to the hospital sparked anxiety across the global pop scene, but it was reported that it was fortunately neither a fatal underlying illness nor a major injury. John Paris, the drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire, who tours together with Richie on this run, said in an interview with local media that “Right up until just before Lionel went onstage—during rehearsals and sound checks—everything was perfect and he was in excellent health with no signs of anything wrong,” adding that “With a person in his 70s, the mild dehydration (Dehydration) seems to have been brought on by fatigue from preparing for the tour and the nonstop schedule overlapping.”