Steve Aoki Cancels European Shows To Undergo Voice-Saving Surgery

Globally renowned electronic performer Steve Aoki has revealed that he is at risk of losing his voice completely after announcing that he has been forced to cancel several appearances on his impending European tour to undergo surgery on his vocal cords.

"I'm deeply saddened to share some terrible news with you guys," Aoki prefaced his post on Facebook, which he accompanied with a three-minute explanatory video about his situation.

"For the past 20 years, all the screaming at my shows [has] severely messed up my vocal chords [sic]," Aoki wrote. "As a result, I have to get surgery or else I cannot even speak anymore.

"I've prolonged this surgery for quite some time and the doc said it's now or never. Because of this, I unfortunately have to cancel some of the shows … in Europe."

In the accompanying video, Aoki elaborates:

"It all started out when I was in bands, and I was in bands where I was screaming, and now I'm on a mic using my vocal cords and screaming, and it's actually damaged my cords to a point of no return, where I have no choice but to get surgery," he said. 

"You can hear my voice now — it's hoarse. It's not great. So the doctors said I have no choice: I have to get surgery or I will suffer irreparable damage."

The video gets pretty graphic — Aoki includes medical photographs of his messed-up vocal cords for context — but its final message is pretty positive; despite the unavoidable cancellations, Aoki spends considerable time apologising to his disappointed fans and promising that he'll return as soon as he's well enough to give them the performance they deserve.

So, spare a thought for Steve Aoki — and, moreover, Steve Aoki' vocal cords — over the next little while. Mega-rich DJ or not, this sort of thing is no fun for anyone.

You can watch Aoki's video message and read his post to his fans below.