Lady Gaga made the “hard and agonising” call to postpone her show in Miami on Wednesday (3 September), due to having “extremely strained” vocal cords.

The Poker Face singer made the announcement via her Instagram Stories just hours before she was set to hit the stage, on doctor’s advice. She also explained that the show had to be postponed to avoid “significant risk” of damaging her vocal cords if she ended up performing.

“Hi everyone I am really so so sorry but I need to postpone tonight’s show in Miami,” she wrote. “During rehearsal last night and my vocal warmup tonight my voice was extremely strained and both my [doctor] and vocal coach have advised me not to go on because of the risk it poses.”

She added, “I want to be hardcore and just push through this for you but I don’t want to risk long term or permanent damage on my vocal cords. There is a significant risk based on all our combined experience with a show like ours and as you know I sing live every night — and even though this was a hard and agonizing decision I would be more afraid of the long term implications on my voice. I hope you can forgive me and accept my sincerest apologies for any disappointment. Let down. Inconvenience.”

The post concludes, “I tried so hard to avoid this. I take serious care of myself to be able to put on this highly demanding show. I love my fans so much. Respect you and hope you can accept my sincere regretful apology. We are trying to reschedule the show as quickly as possible.”

Lady Gaga via Instagram Stories

Lady Gaga is set to perform at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, 6 September, and Sunday, 7 September. At the time of publication, it’s unclear if those shows will be affected by the singer’s need for vocal rest.

In December, Lady Gaga will perform in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, marking her first Australian shows in eleven years. Due to demand, extra shows have been added in Melbourne and Sydney.

She’s scheduled to perform on Friday, 5 December, and Saturday, 6 December, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne; Tuesday, 9 December, at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane; and Friday, 12 December, and Saturday, 13 December, at Sydney’s Accor Stadium. You can find tickets on the Live Nation website.

Interested in what she’ll play on her long-awaited return? The Music has got a setlist for you here.