‘I was so afraid’: JJ Lin falls ill before concerts, has to take IV drip, glucose and oxygen to continue

The show must go on.

JJ Lin caught a cold before his March 9 and 10 concerts in Chengdu, China, but powered through both nights with some medical intervention.

In a tour vlog uploaded on his YouTube channel yesterday (March 14), the Singaporean singer shared that he had a “slight flu” some time ago but thought he had already recovered from it.

“But yesterday, when I caught a cold, my body ached for the whole night and after I woke up it was full-blown,” he shared before his first concert. “I felt the chills, the symptoms of a fever, my voice became what you hear now.”

Despite being able to speak only softly, the 42-year-old said that his voice was already better than before because he had taken some medication.

“During the afternoon rehearsal, I couldn’t make a sound,” he added.

JJ finished his first show, but his condition worsened on the second day, with the video reading: “Finished the IV drip earlier, but the fever symptoms still persist”.

In the vlog, as JJ sits in an ambulance, a medical professional tells him that she will give him some glucose at that point and again during his 1.5-minute costume change halfway through the concert. JJ also breathes in supplemental oxygen through a mask.

During the concert, the vlog shows JJ telling the audience he’s unwell and asking for their energy so they can have an “extra perfect” show together.

“I would like to say to the first-timers, today is not my best condition, so please don’t mind,” he added, standing in what appeared to be slight rain.

“Today I cannot deliver the best live performance that you have been waiting to hear, I’m sorry for that.”

The vlog then shows JJ rushing to the ambulance to “replenish the glucose and oxygen therapy” during his mid-show break.

JJ posted about his experience on Instagram the next day, March 11.

“I was so afraid,” he wrote in the caption. “Everything in my body was telling me to not get on stage, but my heart was clear: The stage is my home and I will sing till the end even if it’s my very last breath.

“It was a most memorable kickstart to the 2024 JJ20 World Tour in Chengdu.”

He next performs in Hangzhou on March 16.