Lewis Capaldi Experiences Tourettes Symptoms on Stage and Is Unable to Sing - The Entire Crowd Steps in Instead

In a beautiful display of the human spirit, Lewis Capaldi’s fans supported him when he started losing his voice at his recent Glastonbury performance.

Three weeks after canceling a string of performances to rest and recover mentally and physically, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Scotland struggled to finish his set at the music festival in England. But the crowd was there for him.

A Touching Performance by Fans

Capaldi had a difficult time singing his chart-topping hit Someone You Loved as he dealt with what appeared to be involuntary movements and his voice breaking.

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He gave a beautiful performance full of heart and humor, but as the hour went on, he began struggling.

“I really apologize. You’ve all come out, and my voice is really packing in,” he told the crowd. “We’re gonna play two more songs if that’s cool, even if I can’t hit all the notes.”

By the time his mega-hit Someone You Loved began his voice was all but gone and the audience took over, singing the lyrics back to him. Capaldi simply stood on stage taking it in while thousands of voices sung the emotional tune in unison.

Since revealing his diagnosis on an Instagram live last September, the singer has remained candid with his fans about his struggle with Tourette’s syndrome and anxiety.

Tourette’s syndrome is a nervous system disorder that causes repetitive movements, sounds, or tics that cannot be easily controlled. According to the Mayo Clinic, more than 200,000 people, including singer Billie Eilish, report having the condition each year in the U.S.

Capaldi said the diagnosis helped him finally understood why he would often get involuntary twitches, and that he noticed his tics in filmed interviews as early as 2018.

“I’ve always had it, apparently,” he said. “The worst thing about it is when I’m excited, I get it, when I’m stressed, I get it, when I’m happy I get it. It happens all the time. Some days it’s more painful than others and some days it’s less painful."

“It looks a lot worse than it is,” he added. “Sometimes it’s quite uncomfortable … but it comes and goes.”

In March, the singer released his documentary How I’m Feeling Now, which gave a closer look at Capaldi’s mental health issues and Tourette’s. It captured how he’s managed his tics throughout his career as he revealed that early on he pushed back on getting treatment, calling the tics a normal part of his life.

Prioritizing His Mental Wellbeing

In the documentary Capaldi admitted to taking a four-month pause to focus on his mental health, which is when he got his Tourette diagnosis. He also spoke at length about how his anxiety can exacerbate his tics as well.

A few days after the festival performance Capaldi announced he will be taking another break.

"First of all, thank you to Glastonbury for having me, for singing along when I needed it and for all the amazing messages afterwards. It really does mean the world," he posted.

"I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I'd hoped three weeks away would sort me out. But the truth is I'm still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette's and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come."

Tourette’s in the Spotlight

On the Jonathan Ross Show in October Capaldi said, “People think I’m on cocaine a lot and I’m not! Now I’m the poster boy for Tourette’s, and I’ll accept that.”

And at the Glastonbury performance that just what he did – put Tourette’s in spotlight.

It is not just that Capaldi has a disability, but his Tourette’s was front and center on the Pyramid stage, along with his talent and incredible performance.

In a perfect world, a tic is just a twinge and not a sign of failure.

That’s why Capaldi’s performance in Glastonbury was so beautiful. Because the crowd wasn’t just singing the lyrics for Capaldi, they were telling him they accept him and admire him exactly as he is, displaying a beautiful example of true acceptance.

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