Why Is Ariana Grande Cancelling So Many Tour Dates?
Ariana Grande is on the final leg of her Sweetner World Tour, but the pop star might not make it across the finish line.
On Nov. 17, 2019, Grande canceled her scheduled show in Lexington, KY, amid ongoing health issues. The singer took to her Instagram Stories to apologize to fans. "I woke up kind of 10 times worse and it hurts so bad to swallow," Grande said in a video (via People). "I'm not really sure what's going on. But, I, unfortunately, don't think I will be able to push through tonight. I am so sad and sorry. I'm so upset but of course obviously, you will be refunded.
Grande continued, "I'm just really devastated. Thank you for understanding and sending love. I will keep you posted as soon as I know what is going on with my body. Thank you for understanding and I am so sorry."
The cancellation came just one day after the singer hopped on social media to tell fans that she had been feeling under the weather for about three weeks. "Hi my loves so I'm still very sick. I've been sick since the last London show. I don't know how it's possible but my throat and head are still in so much pain. I sound okay I'm just in a lot of pain and it's difficult to breathe during the show," Grande wrote on her Instagram Stories (via People). "I just really don't know what's happening with my body right now and need to figure it out."
The "thank u, next" singer followed up the lengthy message with a series of videos where she went into even more detail about her health situation. Grande revealed that she had been battling a nasty sinus infection and was planning to see a doctor soon to find out what exactly was going on. The 26-year-old told fans that she just wanted to give them a "heads up" that she "might have to cancel some things."
The Lexington concert marks the fourth show Grande has cancelled over the course of the nine month tour. So why exactly is the pop star having to cancel so many tour dates?
Ariana Grande got an offer she couldn't refuse
Ariana Grande launched the Sweetner World Tour on March 18, 2019. However, before the tour even started, Grande had already rescheduled nine tour dates and cancelled two. The singer dropped out of her Omaha and Raleigh gigs in favor of performing at Coachella. While all ticket holders were given a full refund, it might have been a bit more fair to offer them discounted passes to the music festival. After all, if it hadn't been for Kanye West abruptly pulling out of Coachella, Grande more than likely wouldn't have bailed on those two tour dates — but when Coachella calls, you answer.
In addition to being the fourth woman ever to land the coveted headliner gig, Grande also made history as the youngest artist to headline the festival at just 25 years old. It's no surprise that the petite pop star said, "thank u, next" to the tour dates that would have prevented her from snagging a once in a lifetime opportunity, but her fans probably had some tears left to cry seeing as Grande never made plans to make it back to those cities during the tour.
Ariana Grande is dealing with some personal issues
On Aug. 9, 2019, Live Nation announced that, due to "personal reasons," Ariana Grande was cancelling her Sept. 9, 2019, tour stop in Krakow, Poland. The tour date was part of the 19-city European leg of the Sweetner tour which ran from Aug. 17, 2019, to Oct. 16, 2019. In addition to the cancellation of the Krakow concert, Grande also postponed shows in Hamburg and Prague during the second leg of the tour. Usually one to open up to her fans about what's going on, Grande stayed silent about her reasons for the cancellation and reshuffling of tour dates. However, it's worth noting that the first anniversary of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller's death was Sept. 7, 2019, just two days before the scheduled concert date that got nixed. It's possible that the singer decided to take time off to spend with family and friends as she continued to grieve the death of Miller.
Following the August 2019 announcement, one heartbroken fan tweeted the singer writing, "baby can u like explain the situation with poland, because we are literally broken. it's the third time u cancelled the show here. X9". Another wrote, "give your Polish fans a proper apology." The September 2019 cancelled tour date wasn't the first time Polish fans missed out on seeing Grande. Back in 2017, following the terrorist attack at Grande's Manchester concert, the singer and her team cancelled back-to-back performances in the country scheduled for May 31, 2017 and June 1, 2017.
Illness has plagued Ariana Grande's whole tour
In light of Ariana Grande's ongoing health issues, the singer might have to cancel on fans who have been waiting months to see her. In May 2019, Live Nation announced via a news release that Grande would be postponing two Tampa concerts due to an "illness."
"Ariana is sorry to disappoint her fans and will look forward to seeing them in November," Amalie Arena wrote in a statement (via WTSP). Similar to how Grande announced her most recent illness, she took to Instagram to tell fans what was going on. "I woke up incredibly sick today, ran to my doctor here and have been told to postpone these shows tonight and tomorrow," Grande wrote (via the Tampa Bay Times)."I will make this up to you, I promise. Please forgive me. I love you and I will be back and better than ever as soon as possible."
Grande is slated to make up the concerts on Nov. 24 in Tampa and Nov. 25 in Orlando. However, seeing as how — at the time of this writing — the first of those concerts is less than a week away, it's possible that Grande won't be well enough to take the stage, and Florida fans will once again lose Grande to health troubles.
With only about a month left of the Sweetner tour, here's hoping Grande is able to finish things off on a high note.