Lionel Richie Cut His Tour Opener Short and Went to the Hospital. He's Already Promising to Be Back Tuesday.

Lionel Richie made it most of the way through opening night before his body told him to stop. The 77-year-old cut his show short Wednesday at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, told the crowd he felt "dizzy" and "strange," spent part of the set performing from a chair, and was taken to a hospital after he came off stage, according to TMZ, which posted video of him singing while seated.

He is okay enough to already be talking about the next show. He is not okay enough to play the next two.

What happened on stage

It was the first night of Richie's co-headlining run with Earth, Wind & Fire, a 26-date tour that is supposed to wrap August 14 in Austin. Night one did not get to the finish. TMZ and Hollywood Reporter both reported that Richie ended the St. Paul concert early after telling fans he was feeling off, and TMZ said he was then transported to a hospital. NBC News reported the same sequence: dizzy on stage, concert cut short, taken in to get checked out.

The one detail that takes the temperature down a few degrees came from inside the band. Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris told the Minnesota Star Tribune that Richie was "a little dehydrated." Nobody involved has put out a fuller medical explanation, so "a little dehydrated" plus a precautionary hospital visit is the whole official picture right now. BCN has not independently confirmed his condition beyond what his camp and the venues have said.

The two shows on hold

By Friday morning the United Center in Chicago, where Richie was due to play that night, had posted the update. He has been advised by doctors to "rest and return to full health," so the Friday Chicago show and Saturday's concert in Columbus, Ohio are both postponed. No makeup dates yet.

The venue passed along a line from Richie himself, saying he is "heartbroken to postpone these two shows and cannot wait to be back performing for his fans." Per that same statement, he and Earth, Wind & Fire plan to pick the tour back up Tuesday in Pittsburgh. That is a four-day breather between the scare and the return, which for a 77-year-old on a month-and-a-half of dates is the sensible read, not the alarming one.

Here is where things stand on the calendar:

The man does not usually stop

If you have watched Richie do anything over the last decade, whether it is a stadium set or a season of judging "American Idol," the brand is unbothered. He is the guy who makes the late-career victory lap look easy. So a show ending early with him in a chair, and an ambulance after, is the part that got people's attention faster than any setlist would have.

The good news is the order of operations here. He stopped when he felt wrong, he let someone check him out, and the people around him are saying dehydration rather than anything scarier. He turned 77 six days before the St. Paul show. Taking four days instead of gutting out a Friday in Chicago is the move, and he seems to know it.

For now, two postponed nights, a promise to be back Tuesday, and a legend who would clearly rather be on stage than resting. We will update if his team says more.