Smith Stings the Cape

On Tuesday the 16^th of April 2019, fans went mad as Sam Smith took the Grand West Arena stage. Only forty-five minutes later crowds left in tears, and within the next twenty-four hours, the whole of Cape Town was devastated. It had taken Sam Smith six years to travel to South Africa, and before the end of just one performance, all of his Cape Town concerts were cancelled. Almost a month has gone by and many are still full of questions: what caused Sam Smith to draw such a line? What does it mean for his fans and ticket holders? And finally, will it take Smith another six years to return? Keep reading and you’ll find all the answers.

According to several sources, Sam Smith cancelled his Cape Town concerts as a result of vocal strain [1]. After an incredible forty-five minutes of note-crushing, Sam Smith had to leave the stage mid-song. He sought aid from medical specialists who advised him to cut the show short, informing him that his voice needed critical rest.

Dannon Siljeur attended the concert on the 16^th of April. Upon speaking to him, he told me, “I don’t know why he [Smith] chose the songs that he did, to be honest. All of them were in such a high vocal range, and I feel like when you’re on a tour you shouldn’t choose songs that will tire you out.” He continued to tell me that Smith hit all of the notes flawlessly, but that it came as no surprise to Dannon that doing so strained his voice.

Struggling with vocal issues is nothing new to Smith. In 2015 he underwent surgery on his vocal cords as a result of vocal haemorrhaging. According to Osborne Head and Neck Institute of Los Angeles, “when the voice is used forcefully, the delicate blood vessels in the vocal cord may burst open and leak blood into the vocal cord” [4]. Judging from Dannon’s description of the performance as well as the great power and vocal range that is required to sing Smith’s songs, one can see how this haemorrhaging may have occurred. Furthermore, one can see how likely it is that this issue may arise again.

Other sources have pinned the vocal strain to anxiety and depression. Smith opened up on Instagram about the great amounts of pressure he was experiencing leading up to his concerts, saying, “I’ve felt completely out of control and as if I’m going to snap and everything is going to come undone” [3]. Strong feelings of emotion have an impact on the vocal cords, as the throat is an incredibly emotional part of the body. Prof James Loock of Stellenbosch University pointed out that “when you use a voice as a profession, you have to be extremely relaxed”. Even slight feelings of anxiety can cause tension in the vocal cords, and this can cause greater issues [2].

Katarina Staines is a Cape Town resident who has in the past struggled with vocal strain. She told me that after vocal issues are experienced once, they are far easier to recur. “It doesn’t matter how well you treated them the last time. If you strain your voice, they’ll come back.” Perhaps this was Smith’s fear were he to continue with his concerts. After all, his voice is his career. Would three concerts have been worth losing all of his progress?

Of course the next concern are the ticket holders – although some were able to see Smith live for forty-five minutes, a rough 10 000 were not so lucky. How were they impacted by the cancellations and how were things resolved, if at all?

Gabriella Geboers had purchased tickets for the 18^th of April. When speaking to her about the cancellation, she told me, “I actually cried! He’s one of my favourite artists and I’d been looking forward to seeing him for almost a year.” Rosalie, another ticket holder for the 18^th of April, felt very similarly to Gabriella. She expressed that she wanted to throw a fit upon hearing the news. “I’d already picked out my outfit,” she said. “I was very upset, but I’d rather he protect his voice so that he can recover and continue with his career.”

From my discussions with ticket holders, I got a general sense that people had an understanding of Smith’s circumstances and that they supported him. Rosalie expressed her support by saying, “health is so much more important than other people’s entertainment. If people are angry over this then they just aren’t supporting him, and who wants fans like that?” Many fans also recalled Smith’s surgery in 2015 and admitted that they feared an end to his career if he continued to strain his voice for the sake of others. One concert would not be worth all that, according to them. Could Sam Smith possibly have a pool of the most loyal and supportive fans out there?

Not everyone that I spoke to felt so supportive, however. Daniel, a ticket holder for the 18^th of April, was not pleased with the circumstances and felt slightly cheated. “I’ve been promised a refund,” he said, “but I don’t want a refund. I want a concert. I had made arrangements, and I was left disappointed.”

In terms of reimbursement, every ticket holder was promised a full refund for their ticket regardless of which evening they were attending. Ticket holders that paid online would be automatically refunded into their banking accounts, and those who purchased tickets in-store were to go to their nearest outlet to be refunded. The final day in which people are to be refunded is the 31^st of May [3]. Neither Gabriella nor Rosalie have been refunded yet, however they both feel optimistic that they will be. Both also ensured me that they would absolutely buy tickets should Sam Smith return to Cape Town in the future. Even Daniel, who expressed great distaste with the overall situation, conceded that he would purchase such tickets. “He is a brilliant musician,” Daniel told me, “and an accident doesn’t take away from that.”

What is your stance on the situation? Were you a ticket holder, and if so, do you agree with what other ticket holders have had to say? Although not everyone is as understanding as the next, it all boils down to health and the sake of Sam Smith’s career. Smith expressed great regret for having to cancel his Cape Town concerts, and so I have no doubt that he will be back as soon as he recovers. For now all we can do is wish him well and await his return. Who knows, perhaps next time he’ll manage an extra ten minutes. And when he does, you’ll know just how to prepare yourself by watching the short clip below.