Sam Smith has issued a heartfelt apology to fans after their concert on Thursday night was cancelled after four songs.
The Unholy hitmaker was performing in Manchester’s AO Arena as part of their Gloria tour when the show was abruptly cancelled soon after starting.
Footage shared online from the gig showed fans leaving the venue and a tannoy citing “issues with their voice” for cutting their performance short.
One concerned fan wrote: “Sam Smith show in Manchester has been cancelled due to their voice – hope everything is okay.”
“It makes absolutely no sense, they sounded stunning I thought, and they were saying, ‘Stick around to hear the new song, you’re a great crowd,’ and then nothing,” another tweeted.
A third commented: “Really odd night at Sam Smith’s Manchester show. Brilliant vocals & great energy for a handful of songs, a promise of an exclusive of a new song at the end.
“A few songs in, the stage goes black before house lights come up and it’s announced that the show’s cancelled.”
Amid the fan concern online, Smith took to social media and revealed that they felt “something was really wrong” with their voice which lead them to cut the concert short.
In a statement shared on social media, they said: “Dearest sailors, I don’t know what to say honestly. 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.
“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.
— tom | (@Rawnsl3y) May 24, 2023
“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.”
Smith is no doubt hyperviligant with their voice having undergone surgery on their vocal cords back in 2015.
At the time, the Stay With Me singer had to cancel a string of Australian dates after doctors discovered a haemorrhage on their vocal cords, and was flown to the United States to see a specialist.
The Latch hitmaker explained that the problem was caused by “singing too hard for too long,” and following the surgery had to remain on vocal rest for three weeks.
