"I’m sorry. I love you. Thank you so much."
'Blinding Lights' sensation The Weeknd had a difficult, er, weekend that saw the popular singer forced to cancel his show in the middle of a song.
The record-breaking Canadian was performing at a sold-out SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday night (3 September) when suddenly his voice gave out.
The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, was halfway through singing 'Can't Feel My Face' when the abrupt stop arrived.
In a video posted by Variety, Tesfaye explains the situation to the crowd, apologising to fans and promising to make up for their disappointment.
"I’m going to make sure everybody’s good, get your money back, and I’ll do a show real soon for you guys, but I wanted to come out and personally apologise and not tweet it or Instagram it," he said.
"I wanted you guys to know that I can’t give you what I want to give you. I apologise. I’m so sorry. I love you guys so much.
"You know how much this kills me," Tesfaye added. "I’m sorry. I love you. Thank you so much."
https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1566302160710578176
In a later post on his social media accounts, The Weeknd reiterated his commitment to his fans.
"My voice went out during the first song and I'm devastated," he said.
"Felt it go and my heart dropped. My deepest apologies to my fans here. I promise I'll make it up to you with a new date."
https://twitter.com/theweeknd/status/1566293764649340929
It should be noted that reaction to Tesfaye's impromptu cancellation was apparently well-received by the majority of fans in attendance, with many even cheering him on and chanting his name.
Less sympathetic, however, was Portishead man Geoff Barrow, who has been a long-time critic of Tesfaye's after The Weeknd seemingly sampled the legendary British band's song 'Machine Gun' on his 2013 song 'Belong to the World'.
The Weeknd denied sampling the track – despite an uncanny resemblance – and claimed he hadn't infringed on Portishead's intellectual property, something Geoff Barrow did not take kindly to.
Commenting on Saturday night's concert snafu, Barrow took a swipe on Twitter.
"Got to be bad when the world's most powerful autotune can't even save you," Barrow snarked on Twitter on Sunday.
https://twitter.com/jetfury/status/1566454818750840840
