Sam Smith teased a mysterious collaboration with Madonna yesterday (May 24), just hours before the singer was forced to cancel their Manchester gig only four songs in.
A video clip posted to social media at 5pm featured audio of Smith and Madonna saying “Sam and Madonna”, while corresponding text flashed on a black screen.
In a tweet posted shortly after, Smith wrote: “Manchester, we’ve got a surprise for you this evening. ‘Unholy’ won’t be the last song….”
— SAM SMITH (@samsmith) May 24, 2023
— SAM SMITH (@samsmith) May 24, 2023
It’s unknown if the two teasers were linked in any way, and Smith was forced to put a stop to the gig at Manchester’s AO Arena in the evening after suffering vocal issues.
The singer later issued an apology to fans for cancelling the gig four songs in, also confirming that two more of their shows will not go ahead as planned.
The pop singer kicked off the show with ‘Stay With Me’, followed by ‘I’m Not The Only One’, ‘Like I Can’ and ‘Too Good At Goodbyes’.
From there, however, Smith left the stage for an extended period and the lights were temporarily dimmed.
“Dearest sailors, I don’t know what to say honestly,” Smith began the statement posted to social media. “I fought off a virus a few weeks ago and since then we have travelled across Europe and had such incredible shows. Today in soundcheck I felt fine and was so excited to give Manchester an amazing show tonight, with a special surprise at the end.”
They continued: “During my third song, I noticed something wrong with my voice. I prayed it was just my voice waking up for the show but into the fourth song I could feel something was really wrong.
“I came off stage and have tried everything to get my voice back in gear but it won’t. I am honestly heartbroken I couldn’t finish the show tonight for you all. I love you all. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry x”
Their planned shows in Glasgow (25) and Birmingham (27) have also been cancelled. Both had already been rescheduled once, and were originally expected to take place in April.
The tour is in support of Smith’s latest LP, ‘Gloria’, which arrived at the start of this year. In a four-star review of the album, NME hailed the record as the singer’s “most vital work” to date.
