Barry Manilow (83) canceled his performance in Lexington, USA, on Tuesday evening at short notice. Via his social media channels, the singer announced: 'Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight's show in Lexington has been postponed.' The exact reason why he didn't take the stage remained unclear.

For fans in the state of Kentucky, it's the second cancellation within a few months. Manilow was actually supposed to perform at the Rupp Arena there on March 9, as the local NBC station LEX 18 reported. The 'Copacabana' performer had to postpone that date because he was undergoing treatment for his lung cancer at the time.

A chance finding that saved his life

Manilow learned of the diagnosis in November 2025, and in a roundabout way. Due to hip pain and after two back-to-back cases of bronchitis, his doctor sent him for an MRI, examining his pelvis and lungs. The result: stage 1 lung cancer.

'If he hadn't done that, man... He saved my life, because there are no symptoms for what I had,' the Grammy winner told the magazine People in a detailed interview in March. 'I would have just kept going, nothing hurt. But they found the spot in my lung.' The call afterward caught him off guard: 'They called me and said, "It could be cancer." That's an ugly word. "Not me. I can't have cancer."'

What the disease has done to him

'You just don't think about how fragile life is,' Manilow told the magazine. 'And suddenly you have lung cancer. But I'm still here. I'm not completely here, a part of me is gone. They took a part of me out, and now I have to figure out: What do I do?' On his way back to his voice, his husband and manager Garry Kief supported him, the singer emphasized to the magazine.

The illness made him take stock, the Tony Award winner said: 'It made me stop and think: Did I do what I wanted to do? Did I make people happy? Was I a good friend?' All these 'corny things' he'd read about his whole life suddenly went through his mind. 'It really stopped me.' The answers turned out to be pleasing: 'And in fact, there are more yeses than I ever thought there would be.'

New album, open rescheduled date

Musically, things continued for Manilow despite the illness. On June 5, What A Time, his 33rd studio album, was released; the advance single 'Once Before I Go' had already made the top ten in March.

When fans in Lexington will actually get to see him remains unclear. The 83-year-old didn't name a new date for the postponed show in his announcement.