Three days into his tour, country singer Darius Rucker announced he ‘can’t sing anymore’ in a shock on-stage confession.
The rest of the concert at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, was scrapped, with only a few songs performed at that point.
Darius previously scared fans when he almost fell off the stage after catching his foot on a wire while performing in Charleston, South Carolina, last year.
He rose to fame as the lead vocalist in Hootie & The Blowfish, known for tracks like Hold My Hand, Let Her Cry, and Only Wanna Be with You.
In a heartbreaking video posted to TikTok, the 59-year-old star attempted to continue for ‘one more song’ before conceding he could no longer sing.
‘I’m going to play one more song. I promise you, we are going to figure this out. You’re going to get your money back. I just can’t sing.’
Darius, clearly frustrated, said he has ‘never done this before’ and promised to ‘make this up to you’, but confessed he was unable to continue.
‘This never happened,’ he said. ‘I physically can’t sing, and I promise you on everything that I stand for I will make this up to you.’
Powering through, Darius continued with his 2013 track Wagon Wheel as the audience belted back the lyrics to him.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, giving the audience more promises that they would ‘figure this out’ before he exited the stage.
Darius has not made any public statements about the show as devastated fans shared their support in the TikTok comments.
‘Darius had to end the Atlantic City show a few songs in,’ wrote original posted CaroTheBlondie. ‘Feel better Darius, we love you!’
‘He looked so upset when he left the stage,’ commented Indigobabs2.0.
Arthur H. Bonney added it ‘looked like his hands were shaking’ due to his emotions, saying he ‘feels so bad for him’.
Gina Appollonio Smith said: ‘Oh man, I love him and hope that he’s OK. As disappointed as I would’ve been his health is the most important thing. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen him in concert but his music plays as a backdrop for a big portion of my life and always will.’
Grow Food noted they had seen him perform the Friday before, and he ‘sounded like he was not feeling well’.
It’s unclear if Darius will be returning for his other scheduled gigs, with his next show scheduled for Saturday, July 19 in Florida.
He is due to tour at various gigs and festivals in the US across the summer,including touring with Mumford and Sons, plus a short visit to the UK in September.
Metro has reached out to Darius’ reps for comment.
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