Last week, Lionel Richie treated the newly crowned King Charles and Queen Camilla to a live set, including 'All Night Long' and 'Easy Like Sunday Morning'.
The 73 year old performed in front of other members of the Royal family and a 20,000 crowd at the historic Coronation event last weekend.
However, it was the alleged "completely different voice" from Richie which saw fans comment on social media, with some claiming that they were unable to recognise it.
“What the hell has happened to Lionel Richie’s voice? He sounds completely different and is terrible live!”, one fan commented. While another added, “Is someone disguised as Lionel Richie because that is not his voice! Sounds completely different”.
Another also wrote, “Lionel Richie’s voice sounds totally different. I wouldn’t recognise it!”.
Other fans were quick to defend Richie's voice following his performance. “Ok so several people seem to disagree with me,” one fan stated. “But I think Lionel Richie is still great and I really enjoyed his performance!”, one fan wrote.
Me trying to figure out how lionel richie looks the same, yet it sounds very different. #CoronationConcert pic.twitter.com/RKb86SjV9k
— Ciaran (@1990_cia) May 7, 2023
Lionel Richie - voice is awful - very different and how much work has he had done ? Those cheekbones ffs #CoronationConcert
— Sergeant Walnuts (@Mardybum2000) May 7, 2023
Everyone at home listening to Lionel Richie #CoronationConcert
— Jane Doe (@LatteAndLenses) May 7, 2023
Why doesn’t he sound like…himself!!? pic.twitter.com/BiVCS5VfhI
Is it me or does Lionel Richie sound entirely different? #CoronationConcert
— Philip Lickley (@philiplickley) May 7, 2023
Is it just me or does Lionel Richie sound completely different 🥴 #CoronationConcert
— Stephanie 💅👃 (@Stepharrnee) May 7, 2023
Back in the 1990s, Lionel Richie once revealed that he suffered a mysterious throat illness, forcing him to undergo several surgeries.
“You don’t want anybody fooling around down there. This is [my] identity", Richie said at the time. “I never really thought that it would end".