Key Takeaways
- Lionel Richie reassured fans at his Nov. 11 Las Vegas residency show, saying, “I’m doing just fine” and thanking them for caring about his health.
- Richie returned to performing after September surgery to treat atrial fibrillation, which his representative said went well.
- The surgery followed two earlier hospital visits during his tour with Earth, Wind & Fire, involving dizziness and possible dehydration.
Lionel Richie has given his fans a reassuring update about his health after previously announcing he was putting a pause on performing for a while.
The legendary 77-year-old singer opened up to fans at his King of Hearts residency in Las Vegas on Nov. 11. “I’m back! I’m back! I’m back,” he said before joking, “now, I don’t know where I was.”
He continued on, adding, “I’m doing just fine. Thank you all so much for caring about me.”
Richie went as far as to dedicate his show to himself. “I want to make it a tribute tonight, to me,” he told the audience. “I better make a tribute to myself before somebody else has that show down the street, ‘Come see Lionel Richie down the street!’”
“Wait a minute, no, this is gonna be a whole week of celebrating Lionel Richie,” he exclaimed afterwards.
Richie’s comments follow his September surgery for atrial fibrillation. A representative revealed the news to the press at the time, informing them that the procedure went well.
Atrial fibrillation is a minimally invasive treatment that can help restore someone’s heart to its regular rhythm.
That time was Richie’s third time during his tour with Earth, Wind & Fire that he’d been hospitalized. Before that, he was taken to a hospital after performing in St. Paul, Minnesota, when he revealed to the crowd that he was feeling dizzy.
A month before that, he checked himself into a hospital after performing in Forest Park, St. Louis, where doctors told him that he could have been suffering from dehydration.
