Sam Smith has apologised to fans for cancelling their Manchester concert four songs in, and confirmed that two more of their shows will not go ahead as planned.
The ‘Unholy’ singer was just shortly into their concert in Manchester’s AO Arena last night (May 24) when the remainder of the show was suddenly cancelled.
Playing to a packed audience, the popstar kicked off the show with a rendition of their 2014 breakout hit ‘Stay With Me’, before launching into performances of ‘I’m Not The Only One’, ‘Like I Can’ and ‘Too Good At Goodbyes’. From there, however, Smith left the stage for an extended period and the lights were temporarily dimmed.
While some audience members initially took to social media to speculate if the issues were due to a power cut (via Manchester Evening News), they were later informed that the show had ended due to “vocal issues”, and instructed to leave the arena.
Now, the ‘I’m Not Here To Make Friends’ singer has taken to social media to apologise for the show’s abrupt cancellation — and explain to fans that they recently battled a virus.
“Dearest sailors, I don’t know what to say honestly,” Smith began. “I fought off a virus a few weeks ago and since then we have travelled across Europe and had such incredible shows. Today in soundcheck I felt fine and was so excited to give Manchester an amazing show tonight, with a special surprise at the end.”
They continued: “During my third song, I noticed something wrong with my voice. I prayed it was just my voice waking up for the show but into the fourth song I could feel something was really wrong.
“I came off stage and have tried everything to get my voice back in gear but it won’t. I am honestly heartbroken I couldn’t finish the show tonight for you all. I love you all. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry x”
Now, in a new update, Smith has confirmed that their shows in Glasgow and Birmingham have been cancelled too.
The former was expected to take place at the city’s OVO Hydro venue tonight (May 25), while the latter was scheduled for Saturday (May 27). Both had already been rescheduled once, and were originally expected to take place in April.
In the latest update shared to their Instagram Stories, Smith explained that while they are “heartbroken” by the decision, they feel that they may suffer permanent damage to their voice if they persist with the shows.
“Doctors have advised due to a vocal cord injury, Sam must have complete vocal rest,” it read. Currently, none of the three cancelled shows have any plans to be rescheduled, and refunds will be issued to those who were set to attend.
Earlier this month (May 7), it was also confirmed that Sam Smith‘s Israel debut would be cancelled. Taking place at Summer In The City festival in Tel Aviv, the singer’s set — amid many others — was scrapped due to “unforeseeable problems”.
The tour is in celebration of Smith’s latest LP, ‘Gloria’, which arrived at the start of this year. In a four-star review of the album, NME hailed the release as the singer’s “most vital work” to date.
“Smith is no longer just the heartbreak purveyor who internet trolls once claimed was really Adele in disguise,” it read. “‘Gloria’ isn’t really an album about getting off. At heart, it’s a personal exploration of the broader queer experience that recalls George Michael‘s classic 1996 album ‘Older’… Sam Smith has never sounded better because they’ve never been more themselves.”