Lionel Richie checked himself into a hospital in St. Louis after performing Saturday night, according to multiple reports, in the latest health concern to interrupt the 77-year-old singer’s tour schedule.
CBS News reported that Richie went to a local hospital for tests after the show, with possible slight dehydration among the concerns being examined. Global News, citing a source close to the tour who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, reported that Richie self-checked into the hospital after the concert and was “doing okay.”
Video and eyewitness accounts from the St. Louis performance showed Richie leaning on a piano for support at one point and later asking for a chair during the final song, “All Night Long.” The hospitalization came after a separate incident in June when dizziness forced him to end a Minnesota show early and postpone dates in Chicago and Columbus.
The renewed concern has quickly turned into one of the day’s biggest entertainment searches. Google Trends listed “lionel richie” at more than 200,000 U.S. searches in the past 24 hours, up more than 1,000 percent, with “lionel richie hospitalized” among the related queries driving the spike.
That search interest is being matched by unusually broad social discussion. A hospitalization thread on r/Music passed 2,400 votes, while separate discussions on r/popculturechat and r/news drew more than 1,600 and 3,100 votes respectively. Those reactions are a measure of audience concern, not confirmation of Richie’s condition, which is why the medical details here come from current reporting rather than social posts.
Richie is touring with Earth, Wind & Fire on the Sing A Song All Night Long tour. His official website currently lists his next scheduled performance for September 26 in San Francisco, followed by rescheduled dates in Chicago and Columbus. No broad cancellation of the remaining tour has been announced on his official site.
The latest episode is likely to keep attention on whether that schedule changes. For now, the most concrete update is that Richie sought hospital evaluation after the St. Louis show and a source close to the tour says he is doing okay.
