When Brandy and Monica took the stage during their Chicago stop of The Boy Is Mine Tour on Saturday, October 18, the show didn’t end quite the way the duo planned. During the concert, Brandy unexpectedly rushed off stage and didn’t return, leaving Monica to finish the performance on her own — which also meant that fans missed out on hearing their hit song, “The Boy Is Mine,” live.
At first, there was a lot of speculation about why Brandy left mid-concert. According to People, in the moment, Brandy said “Give me one second y’all I gotta get my —” as she walked off stage, but she never ended up coming back out, leaving fans wondering what had gone wrong.
On Sunday, Brandy broke her silence, sharing a statement about the incident on her Instagram addressed to the fans who were at her concert in Chicago.
“I sincerely apologize for the abrupt end to last night’s performance in Chicago,” she wrote. “After weeks of nonstop rehearsals, last night I experienced dehydration and feelings of wanting to faint. Everyone involved agreed that prioritizing my well-being was of the utmost importance.”
“I still made the decision to try and return and give it my all despite not feeling okay,” she continued. “With having to make some adjustments and the show being very technical, unfortunately, it was impossible to fully connect sonically with the production. I really appreciate everyone’s best efforts.”
She went on to applaud Monica for continuing the show without her, and shared that after seeing a doctor and taking “the proper precautions,” she had been able to recover enough to continue to perform on the tour.
Though Brandy turned off her Instagram comments for the post, fans have come to her defense on X in the face of the anger some concertgoers are feeling at missing out on the full performance from both singers. One wrote, “ya’ll should show more compassion to artists. Brandy hasn’t toured in YEARS. That’s a lot for anyone, especially someone who gives their entire soul in rehearsals & on stage every night.”
Another posted, “If Brandy left the stage & didn’t return, something serious must have happened. Brandy wouldn’t do that for just any reason.”
Fortunately, Brandy was well enough to take the stage at the tour’s Indianapolis stop on Sunday night, and she later posted photos from the concert on Instagram.
“Indianapolis, Thank you,” she wrote in her caption.
