Veteran American singer Lionel Richie was hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) in St. Louis following a weekend performance, according to media reports. The 77-year-old artist checked himself into a local hospital after his Saturday, August 29 concert at The Muny in Forest Park, reportedly as a precautionary measure while doctors evaluated him for mild dehydration. Sources indicate he is hoping to be discharged on Tuesday.
Concertgoers reported that Richie appeared to struggle toward the end of the show, asking his team for a chair during his final song, All Night Long, so he could finish seated. The show marked the opening stop of his current Sing a Song All Night Long tour alongside Earth, Wind & Fire, with his next performance scheduled for 26 September in San Francisco.
This is Richie's second health scare of the tour, following an incident in June in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he fell ill mid-performance and was rushed to the hospital. That episode forced him to postpone shows in Chicago and Columbus before his return to the stage on 30 June in Pittsburgh, with his team attributing both incidents to dehydration.
Separately, Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire also postponed an August 6 concert in San Francisco due to an unrelated medical emergency involving the band's drummer, John Paris. A representative for Richie has not yet publicly commented on the latest hospitalization.