The 2023 ACM Awards are dealing with a last-minute shakeup after Morgan Wallen was forced to cancel his performance on Thursday due to "vocal fold trauma".
The country music singer, 29, shared his disappointing health news on Wednesday, revealing he has "re-injured" his vocal cords and is now unable to perform for the next six weeks after receiving the "bad news" from his doctors.
Morgan had only just returned to the stage after 10 days of vocal rest and performed three shows over the weekend but admitted by his third performance he "felt terrible". Hear what he had to say in the video below.
Morgan's vocal rest means that not only will he miss performing at the ACM Awards – where he is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Song of the Year for 'Sand in My Boots', and Artist-Songwriter of The Year – but he will also miss scheduled festival performances and upcoming shows, which he and his team are working to reschedule.
The singer must take his doctor's advice seriously as he admitted he is at risk of "permanently" damaging his voice should he not completely rest it during his six-week hiatus. "They told me that if I do this the right way, that I'll get back to 100%, and they also said if I don't listen and I keep singing, I'll permanently damage my voice," he said, adding: "So for the longevity of my career, this is just the choice I had to make."
© Getty ImagesThe 'Last Night' singer also admitted that he has been "quietly" dealing with further health problems which he can now address during his ordered time off. He said: "I tore my lat [muscle] while we were in Australia, I've been trying to work through that quietly but this time off is gonna help me get that right as well."
© Getty ImagesThis news comes several weeks after Morgan was forced to cancel his April 23 show in Oxford, Mississippi last minute due to vocal issues. That prompted the postponement of three shows the following weekend.
© Getty ImagesWhile Morgan may be missing out on the ACM Awards, there is still a star-studded line-up of performers including Ed Sheeran, Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, The War And Treaty, Lainey Wilson, and Bailey Zimmerman.
The two-hour show, taking place at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, will be hosted by country music icons Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks and will be free to stream live for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch.
© ACM Awards
© ACM Awards
© ACM AwardsRead more HELLO! US stories here
Want to keep up to date with the latest stories? Sign up to our HELLO! Newsletters today.
