R&B star Ne-Yo suddenly fled the stage during his show at the Machester Evening New Arena here in England last night, citing illness. Check out the report below:
There are doubts about whether Ne-Yo will be able to perform at his three remaining UK shows after he was taken ill and left the stage in tears during a gig in Manchester.
The R&B singer, who was performing at the MEN Arena in Manchester on Thursday, was crying after struggling to sing on stage for over half an hour.
He told fans he had never not completed a show before but couldn’t continue with his performance.
Ne-Yo is meant to be performing in Liverpool tonight ( Friday ) and in Newcastle and London over the weekend.
BBC Manchester presenter Karen Gabay was at the concert and said Ne-Yo looked like he had a “really bad fever”.
She says Ne-Yo started his gig 30 minutes late and announced that he wasn’t feeling well quite early on.
“Even after the second song, for a man who is normally so cool, he was sweating.
“He was doing a Michael Jackson tribute and you could see that he was actually struggling to finish every musical phrase. He kept asking the audience to bear with him.
“Then he actually was crying – I thought it was because he had done a couple of Michael Jackson tributes and he was getting a little bit overcome, but it did seem a bit strange – he was very emotional.
‘Floods of tears’
“Then he did a slow song, he was really struggling to move, he was absolutely pouring with sweat, and he went over to a table. He was actually hanging on for dear life and he looked as if he was about to drop then, he looked so ill.
“My friend also noticed that his songs had been shortened.”
Gabay says Ne-Yo then went off for a “very long break” before he came back on stage in “floods of tears”.
“He absolutely couldn’t hold tears back – the crowd were applauding him and he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“Then he said he’d never had to do this before – he’d never not been able to finish a show – he said it though tears, it was unbelievable.
“He looked like he had a really bad fever.
“Then he went off stage crying.”
Although most of the crowd cheered, Gabay says some people booed.
“Then they announced the show wasn’t going to be cancelled, it was postponed – so in effect saying he will do the show again.” {Source}
I actually feel for Shaffer. Of all the performers out now, I’d definitely put him up there as one of the most professional, one who places a lot of emphasis on the intricate aspects of his performances. So understandable is his frustration at not being able to continue with the show. We wish Ne-Yo a speedy recovery.
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