CULTURE
Get Well Soon, Elton John! And 6 Other Times Artists Canceled Their Tours
17 Sep, 21
It’s true: Elton John is postponing his farewell tour.
The legendary pop star said after he sustained a fall that he was in a considerable amount of pain. In a statement, he wrote that he unfortunately will have to undergo major hip surgery and reschedule his Farewell tour.
“Despite intensive physio and specialist treatment, the pain has continued to get worse and is leading to increasing difficulties moving,” he wrote. “I have been advised to have an operation as soon as possible to get me back to full fitness and make sure there are no long-term complications.”
While we send Elton John the best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery, he is far from the first artist to have to cancel a tour due to health issues or an injury. Here are just six other massive artists that are also forced to cancel their tours over the years.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Shutterstock
In July of 2017, Bieber announced after performing a handful of dates on his Purpose world tour that he would be unexpectedly canceling the remaining dates. In a vague statement, the pop star wrote that he was “grateful and honored to have shared that experience with his cast and crew for over 150 successful shows across six continents during this run.” He added that “after careful consideration” that he simply “decided he will not be performing any further dates.”
A month later, Bieber clarified the reason behind his decision, citing mental health issues that he felt needed addressing. “I let my broken relationships dictate the way I acted toward people and the way I treated them,” he wrote on Instagram. “I let bitterness, jealously and fear run my life…Me taking this time right now is me saying I want to be SUSTAINABLE. I want my career to be sustainable, but I also want my mind heart and soul to be sustainable. So that I can be the man I want to be, the husband I eventually want to be and the father I want to be.”
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez Performing
By Randy Miramontez (Shutterstock)
Bieber’s former flame even once had to cancel her tour due to mental health issues. Selena Gomez was in the middle of her 2016 Revival Tour when she decided to cancel half her dates and take a year off from music. She told fans in a statement published by PEOPLE that she had been diagnosed with Lupus and that the disease resulted in a mix “anxiety, panic attacks and depression.”
“I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off,” she said. “Thank you to all my fans for your support. You know how special you are to me, but I need to face this head on to ensure I am doing everything possible to be my best. I know I am not alone by sharing this, I hope others will be encouraged to address their own issues.”
Kanye West
Kanye West on stage
By Everett Collection
After a handful of bizarre rants and celebrity feuds placed a dark cloud over 2016’s Saint Pablo Tour, Kanye West abruptly canceled what was left of the tour after he was hospitalized in Los Angeles for sleep deprivation and exhaustion. Little information emerged regarding his condition as his weeks-long stay dragged on, with mental health experts at one point weighing in on what exactly was going on with Mr. West. After his release, he came out and said that he had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and that he experienced manic episodes that led to debilitating paranoia. He confirmed that he is not medicated for the condition.
Adele
Adele
by Jim Smeal-Shutterstock
In 2011, Adele was forced to cancel her U.S. and U.K. tour dates after her vocal chord hemorrhaged and resulted in her having to get surgery. “She is to undergo surgery to alleviate the current issues with her throat and a full recovery is expected,” read a statement per Billboard. “As a result, doctors have ordered her to rest her voice and completely recuperate before looking to schedule any work commitments.”
The hemorrhage was due to laryngitis, and she continued to battle the disease throughout the year. On her blog, Adele spoke on two moments in particular when her voice “suddenly switched off like a light! it was literally as if someone pulled a curtain over my throat.”
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga and her dog Asia
By Palace Lee (Shutterstock)
Another artist forced to sideline their tour due to hip surgery, Lady Gaga was forced to make a similar cancellation to Elton John in 2013 when her Born This Way Ball tour was abruptly cut short after she suffered an intense hip injury that required surgery. Gaga later reaffirmed that the injury was indeed severe, as she said the injury resulted in “a hole in my hip the size of a quarter.”
She added in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily that her injury was “actually a lot worse than just a labral tear. I had broken my hip…The surgeon told me that if I had done another show I might have needed a full hip replacement. I would have been out at least a year, maybe longer.”
Lorde
In 2014, Lorde decided to cancel the entire Australian segment of our Pure Heroine Tour. The decision came after the singer developed a “really nasty chest infection” that left her ill and in desperate need of R&R. She returned home and wrote on Twitter that she was “so, so gutted” for disappointing her fans. “My parents and my team stepped in telling me I needed a break after being non-stop since the Grammys in January,” she wrote. “We will 100% be back for this tour (most likely in November) so don’t worry about that.”
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