Gladys Knight has announced she’s cutting down on performances as she enters a “new era.”
“After much soul searching I’ve decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward,” the seven-time Grammy winner said in an Instagram post. “I’ll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.”
She continued, “I’d like to take a moment, in advance, to thank all my fans over this last three quarters of a century for making a little girl’s dream come true and supporting her every step of the way. I am immensely grateful to all of you and send my eternal love back to you.”
Knight is currently on a solo tour and recently wrapped her time on the road for The Queens Tour alongside Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Stephanie Mills. However, in her statement, Knight did not rule out all future live performances, writing, “I hope to see your smiling faces out and about on the road. God bless all of you and hope to see you soon.”
The announcement follows her July performance at the Hollywood Bowl with Smokey Robinson, which sparked some concern for the singer. In a recap of the performance, Billboard wrote that Knight “barely got through this show, and only by leaning heavily on her backup singers.”
