When popular Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi suffered a Tourette's Syndrome episode on stage during a recent concert, his fans stepped in for him and helped him finish the song.
Videos of the concert, posted on TikTok on Wednesday, have won many hearts on the internet.
The clips filmed during Capaldi’s performance, on February 21 in Frankfurt, showed the singer briefly turning away from the microphone as he experienced head and shoulder twitches. He was singing his 2019 hit “Someone You Loved," and the audience, were already singing along to the chorus.
When Capaldi stopped, his fans continued with the song louder until Capaldi resumed singing, and the twitching stopped.
Last year, Capaldi spoke out about his diagnosis with Tourette Syndrome, a condition of the nervous system that involves involuntary repetitive movements or sounds known as tics – this can include sudden jerking of the head or shrugging of the shoulders.
One of the clips posted by TikTok user @katharina.shry was viewed over 50 million times on TikTok, with fans praising the singer for continuing to perform despite his symptoms.
TikTok user @Jermaine Augustin replied: “Love to hear a crowd of people sing.”
And, TikToker @saya posted: “This [is] so beautiful and melts my heart.”
In January, the 26-year-old singer had posted a video on TikTok to address fans’ concerns after his symptoms surfaced during a previous concert, explaining that he was shaking due to Tourette's syndrome.
In the video, Capaldi was heard saying: “I’ve got Tourette’s, so I’m just twitching quite a bit here. I’m absolutely fine, it’s just this happens when I get, like, tired, nervous, excited, whatever, so it gets more intense.
“But this is at the end of an hour-and-a-half gig, and I’m singing in front of 15,000 people — so yeah, I’m tired and I’m also very excited because this whole arena’s singing my songs back to me.”
Capaldi’s fan @Zak replied: “As someone who struggles with functional tics and a seizure disorder, it's great to see how honest you are about your Tourette’s. Love you and your music”
TikTok user and mum @Knitting Fløtre wrote: “The fact that you say ‘I’ve got Tourettes’ that easily… It makes such a difference! Both my boys have TS and they love you!”
