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Lionel Richie reportedly checked himself into an ICU shortly after his performance in St. Louis, Missouri this Saturday, August 29.
The 77-year-old performer, who first made his name with The Commodores, was last in hospital after experiencing a dizzy spell in St. Paul, Minnesota in June.
People reports that Richie’s latest hospital visit was “out of caution”, while TMZ claimed doctors were looking into “possible slight dehydration” and cited witnesses at the St. Louis concert who said the singer requested a chair so that he could sit down during closing number “All Night Long”.
The Independent has approached Richie’s representatives for further comment.
The singer has a gap in his tour dates before his next scheduled stop in San Francisco on September 26.
Lionel Richie has twice been hospitalized this summer, according to reports (AFP/Getty)
Richie was last active on Instagram four days ago, posting a photo of himself with the late country superstar Dolly Parton that he captioned: “Dolly, what a fun ride… ‘I Will Always Love You.’ We will always love you! Your light and your music will live on forever.”
Fans on social media showed their support for Richie, with one writing: “Lionel Richie has done everything to give us all beautiful music & I am putting the universe on notice right now! It’s not his time! Quit playing with the ones we love. Life is hard & we need the joy bringers.”
Another wrote: “Not Lionel Richie! Hope he recovers soon.”
Richie first rose to fame in the Seventies as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group The Commodores. In 1982, he released his debut solo album, which featured the chart-topping lead single “Truly.” That same year, he officially left his band to pursue a solo career.
After the incident in St. Paul earlier this summer, fans shared footage on social media showing Richie performing “Dancing on the Ceiling” when he signaled to someone on stage that he was going to finish the performance sitting down.
Following the song, Richie told the audience, “Now, what I have learned about my years of being in the business: when you are feeling dizzy, sit your ass down. And when you are feeling strange about yourself, sit your ass down.
“Now I want you to know that that is the first time in the history of ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’ I’ve done it sitting down,” he continued to audience laughter and cheers. “That’s a bad sign! That’s a bad sign, y’all.”