Lionel Richie, 77, is in the intensive care unit of a local hospital after struggling to finish his Saturday concert in St. Louis’ Grand Casino Arena.
Toward the end of the concert, Richie asked his team for a chair so he could sit while performing his final song, “All Night Long”; he sang the night’s closer from his perch on a stool.
TMZ reported Monday that the American Idol judge checked himself into a local hospital for testing, and that doctors are looking into possible dehydration. TMZ also says he hopes to be discharged Tuesday. A source “close to the singer” told Rolling Stone that Richie is going to be OK.
The prolific musician is famous for songs like “Dancing on the Ceiling” and “All Night Long (All Night).” He won an Oscar for his 1985 song “Say You, Say Me, which featured in the film White Nights.
Richie cut a show short in St. Paul in late June after experiencing dizziness on stage; paramedics escorted the four-time Grammy winner from the venue during an unplanned intermission. He later said he was “doing well” and returned to touring. Richie addressed his prior concert on Saturday.
“Some things have been happening on this tour that kind of shook me up a little bit, because I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on,” he said. “I went back to the doctor, and he said, ‘You are suffering from dehydration.’”
Throughout the show, Richie was sipping on electrolytes.
“I’m telling you, this stuff is nasty—but it works,” he quipped.
