Sam Smith has issued a heartfelt apology to fans after cancelling his concert at the AO Arena in Manchester suddenly after just a few songs on Wednesday.
The singer, 31, issued a statement shortly after coming off stage, insisting he could not go on after noticing ‘something was really wrong’ with their voice.
Fans took to social media as they were leaving the venue after the crowd was briefly plunged into darkness and the performance abruptly stopped after Sam sung their 2017 song Too Good at Goodbyes.
It was confirmed over the tannoy that Sam would not be returning to the stage due to ‘vocal issues’, with Sam previously cancelling a string of shows after falling ill with a mystery illness.
The giant gold figure could be seen dimly lit at the back of the stage before it was announced Sam would not be continuing with the gig, disappointing fans who had travelled from as far as China.
Earlier in the day, Sam teased a new collaboration with Madonna in a brief clip on Instagram, with the star insisting they would not end Wednesday’s show with their usual performance of their hit Unholy, suggesting they would debut the new track.
Sorry: Sam Smith, 31, has issued a heartfelt apology to fans after cancelling his concert at the AO Arena in Manchester suddenly after just a few songs on Wednesday
However, the gig did not go on long enough for Sam to perform their expected 21 songs on the night, with the star said to have vanished after their track Too Good at Goodbyes.
Taking to Twitter after leaving the arena, one person wrote: ‘Nah i can’t believe it the people behind us had travelled all the way from China to see sam smith and he cancelled 4 songs in gotta be the most brutal thing ever that.’
While someone else shared: ‘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.’
Another person posted: ‘Sam Smith’s concert started off INCREDIBLE like banger after banger and then everything stopped, they ended up cancelling I’m so f**king sad.’
And another music lover wrote: ‘Absolutely gutted that Sam Smith cancelled.. but still had such a good night and they sounded INCREDIBLE in what they did sing!!’
‘I hope it’s rescheduled. It’s no fault of the artist when it’s health issues but the time, money & planning that some fans expend just to be able to go or travel to one of these shows is extraordinary. Of course this would happen to poor Sam in the U.K!!!’, shared someone else.
While another fan wrote: ‘Too Good at Goodbyes was the last song and they popped off stage and never came back the irony,’ adding: ‘”Unholy won’t be the last song tonight” I mean, they weren’t kidding, but only because they performed… 4 songs.’
‘So Sam Smith really is way to good at goodbyes, got off after 4 songs! Wtf,’ joked someone else.
While someone else shared: ‘Might be over thinking … but I hope that it was so emerging like technical issues or Sam being unwell or something and not something more serious that’s being kept quiet from the public for safety …. @samsmith … either way; I hope everyone’s okay!’
MailOnline has contacted a representative for Sam for comment.
Just hours before taking to the stage, a teaser clip was posted on Sam’s Instagram page hinting at a collaboration with Madonna.
A short video started out with a black screen before it cut to Sam’s voice, saying: ‘Sam and…’
Madonna’s whispered voice could then be heard as she said her name.
Their words were written out in bold white lettering on the screen as they spoke them.
Sam posted no caption with the clip, with no further details of their work together being announced.
Pop star Sam was forced to cancel a string of shows recently after falling ill with a mystery illness.
They cancelled two gigs last month after being struck down by the illness.
Sam took to their Instagram Stories at the time to tell fans they would not be able to perform at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham as they were well not well enough, postponing the show until this month.
Just days earlier, Sam had pulled out of performing at the OVO Hydro Arena in the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Sam announced: ‘Sailors, I am so sorry to let you know that my team and I are still really not well, so unfortunately we need to reschedule our Birmingham show to the 27th of May 2023.
‘It’s so important to me that we give you the very best version of Gloria. I don’t want you to experience it at anything less.
‘Thank you so much for understanding, I know how excited everyone is to see the show, and I feel the same about seeing all of you.
‘All previous tickets are still valid for the new date. For more information, go to my website www.samsmithworld.com. All my love, Sam X.’
Ahead of the Glasgow gig Sam explained how they and their team had felt ‘really unwell’.
Sam wrote on Instagram: ‘Sailors, I’m so sorry to say but we have to reschedule the Glasgow show to 25th May 2023.
‘Myself and a lot of my team have been hit with a virus, that’s made us really unwell.
‘I want to give you the best version of Gloria the Tour and at the moment that’s not possible.
‘It was also really important to me that we had another date to move this to straight away.
‘We will celebrate Gloria together!! All previous tickets are still valid for the new date. For any more information go to my website www.samsmithworld.com. All my love, Sam.’
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