Ed Sheeran had to work double duty during a recent stop on his Mathematics tour due to his opening act Khalid getting into a car accident.
At the start of the show in Landover, Maryland, the "Shape of You" singer took the stage and let fans know Khalid had been in a car accident earlier in the week and, due to his recovery time, he won't be opening the show as scheduled. But instead of canceling the opening act, Sheeran took it upon himself to give fans what they paid for.
"[Khalid] was in a car accident this week, he's recovering and we wish him the best," Sheeran told the crowd. "If people don't know I was going to be the opening act today people are going to walk up to me today like, 'This show isn't what I thought it was. I thought there'd be more fireworks.'"
The 32-year-old performed a 30-minute set that included songs from his latest album, – (Subtract). During the impromptu performance, Sheeran joked that he enjoyed playing with the sun out.
"Usually when I start playing, it's like pitch-black and now I get to see everyone. It's awesome," he told the crowd. "This is pretty fun."
He added, "I kind of feel like when you're the main act, there's a bunch of pressure because people have paid to see you but I feel like when you're the opening act you're sort of like, 'Let's have fun. Let's play songs.'"
Towards the end of the opening act, Sheeran wished Khalid nothing but the best with his recovery and hoped he would make it to the next tour stop.
"I just want to say, before I introduce this next song, that I really hope Khalid gets well soon and that he'll be joining us in Boston," he said.
There's not much information on what happened with Khalid, but according to Sheeran, he's doing well. Prayers up.
