(WSVN) - Music icon Lionel Richie abruptly ended the opening night of his concert tour in Minnesota, sparking concerns over his health.
Videos posted online captured the 77-year-old singer-songwriter and “American Idol” judge performing about an hour into Wednesday night’s set list when he is seen taking breaks to sit down.
Richie is seen openly addressing the concerning onstage moments with the audience. Moments after he was seen sitting down, Richie told the audience that he felt “dizzy.”
“What I have learned about my years of being in the business: when you are feeling dizzy, sit your [expletive] down,” he said.
The four-time Grammy winner, famous for hits like “All Night Long” and “Dancing on the Ceiling,” went on to perform another song before an impromptu intermission. Shortly after that, his saxophonist told the crowd that Richie was unable to continue.
“I thought it was great for him to be fully transparent with the audience, which is what he was doing all night,” said concertgoer Cullen Haskins. “Then, yeah, it was a light bulb moment, though, ’cause then you were like, ‘Oh, he is having a hard time.'”
Overnight Thursday, United Center in Chicago posted that Richie will be postponing his next two shows, in Chicago and Columbus, under the advisement of doctors.
Richie posted several photos to social media from Wednesday’s sound check, all smiles ahead of the show.
Richie told “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts in a September 2025 interview about the high-energy atmosphere he aims to create during his performances.
“‘Oh, you thought you were gonna sit down during’ my concert? Oh, no, everybody up.’ And it becomes now an orchestration, of kind of taking over how I want them, the audience, to react, and then, once they get to the third song, they know what to do from then on.”
Richie plans to be back on stage Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.