Frank Ocean Forced To Cancel Tour Dates After Tearing Vocal Cords

On Friday, Frank Ocean was forced to cancel a mini tour in Australia following a show in Melbourne on Thursday night, during which the singer had trouble hitting high notes and came off as rather grumpy. Normally when a music artist cancels tour dates in places that are not the United States, the news story isn’t a huge deal here in The States. However, the cancellation is due to a tear in his vocal cords, that could potentially affect his touring schedule and performance capabilities moving forward.

Ocean is a prolific performer, which is how a gig at the Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay, Australia turned into several days of gigs across the country. Unfortunately, Thursday’s Melbourne gig didn’t go so well, with the LA Times reporting the singer had to power through a rendition of “Forrest Gump” before telling the audience “I’m sick… I don’t know if you care."

Since Ocean has now had to cancel some tour dates, I’m sure there are plenty of people who care. On Friday, promoter Live Nation confirmed the Australia cancellations, also noting that the 25-year-old singer underwent medical help after last night’s show and was found to have a tear in his vocal cords. This means the artist will be unable to complete his Australian tour dates.

In the statement, the company also notes that ticket money will be refunded to purchasers. Additionally, once Ocean’s vocal cords mend, the promoters hope to get him back to Australia as soon as possible, although that won’t help those attending the Splendour in the Grass Festival.

Although Lady Gaga was famously out with a hip injury this year, usually the biggest injury a singer may have to face involves vocal cord issues in the form of tears and nodules. Having vocal problems isn’t something to mess with and sometimes even requires surgery, as John Mayer found out over the last several years. As you can see in the video from last night’s show, the singer is having trouble hitting some of the high notes and his vocal issues don’t seem to be a laughing matter.

The only thing we can hope for is that the injury won’t keep Ocean from the stage or the recording studio for an extended period of time.