The 73 year old performed in front of other members of the Royal family and a 20,000 crowd at the historic Coronation event last weekend.
However, it was the alleged "completely different voice" from Richie which saw fans comment on social media, with some claiming that they were unable to recognise it.
“What the hell has happened to Lionel Richie’s voice? He sounds completely different and is terrible live!”, one fan commented. While another added, “Is someone disguised as Lionel Richie because that is not his voice! Sounds completely different”.
Another also wrote, “Lionel Richie’s voice sounds totally different. I wouldn’t recognise it!”.
Other fans were quick to defend Richie's voice following his performance. “Ok so several people seem to disagree with me,” one fan stated. “But I think Lionel Richie is still great and I really enjoyed his performance!”, one fan wrote.
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Back in the 1990s, Lionel Richie once revealed that he suffered a mysterious throat illness, forcing him to undergo several surgeries.
“You don’t want anybody fooling around down there. This is [my] identity", Richie said at the time. “I never really thought that it would end".
