Only 11 dates into his seven-month global tour, country superstar Morgan Wallen needs vocal rest.
Wallen canceled a Sunday evening appearance at the University of Mississippi football stadium in Oxford after performing in the city the night before.
“After last night’s show I started losing my voice so I spent the day resting up, talking to my doctor and working through my vocal exercises trying to get better,” Wallen said in a statement via social media just before his scheduled performance time at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. “I really thought I’d be able to take the stage and it kills me to deliver this so close to showtime, but my voice is shot and I am unable to sing.
“All tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. I am so sorry, I promise you guys I tried everything I could.”
Did Morgan Wallen keep his promise? Country singer completes his $500K pledge to Black groups
A message on the massive stage screen in the stadium read: “Ladies & Gentlemen, Unfortunately Morgan has lost his voice and is unable to perform tonight – therefore tonight’s show has been cancelled. Please make your way safely to the stadium exits. Refunds for tonight’s event will be available at point of purchase.”
HARDY, ERNEST and Nate Smith performed their supporting sets as scheduled before Wallen’s cancellation announcement.
One Twitter commenter said, “Completely disappointed in @MorganWallen!! Been sitting in this stadium for 3 hrs and he just announced the show is canceled!!!”
“Morgan Wallen not being able to sing seems like a ridiculous excuse to cancel his show considering that never stopped him before,” another fan tweeted.
Controversies are nothing new for Wallen, who is currently the top-drawing country music star in the world.
He was caught on camera in 2021 outside a home in Nashville, Tennessee, yelling profanities and a racial slur. He apologized at the time but was suspended indefinitely from his label and his music was pulled by radio stations and streaming services.
Story continuesWhen is Morgan Wallen’s next concert?
His next scheduled tour dates are:
April 27 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan
April 28 at Vibrant Arena in Moline, Illinois
April 29 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.
May 4 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Morgan Wallen’s vocal issues emerged amid the success of ‘One Thing at a Time’
Wallen is seeing unparalleled success with his album “One Thing at a Time,” released in March.
Its 36 tracks earned nearly 500 million on-demand streams as all 36 tracks entered the Billboard Hot 100 in the week of the record’s release. That success broke the record set by Drake for most songs by an artist on the chart at one time and the record for most debuts on the chart, with 27.
This keyed Wallen’s single “Last Night” to the top of Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 charts – his first time on top of the countdown.
Contributing: Marcus K. Dowling, The (Nashville) Tennessean, and Ross Reily, The (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger
Matty Healy, Morgan Wallen: And when your favorite artist shares racist, hateful views
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Morgan Wallen cancels concert at last minute, goes on vocal rest