Sam Smith was 45 minutes into a concert when he had to cancel the rest of the show because of a vocal strain. It happened in Capetown, South Africa on Tuesday.

Smith abruptly left the stage mid-song.
The backup singers finished up.
The arena fell silent.

An announcer said there were technical difficulties. Soon after, the house lights came on and the show was over. The concert promoter tweeted Smith’s condition. Shows scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday were canceled as well after Smith consulted with a doctor about his voice.

Sam Smith’s CPT concert tonight has been cancelled. Unfortunately Sam Smith took strain to his voice & had to stop his performance. Ticket holders will be contacted directly. We will keep you posted with more info for the other CPT performances as it becomes available.

— BIG Concerts (@BigConcerts) April 16, 2019