Popular Singer-Songwriter Suddenly Fell Ill Before His First-Ever TV Performance

Country artist Ben Gallaher made his national TV performance debut in May when he appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

And a self-described “crisis moment” nearly kept the performance from happening.

Gallaher described the moment that almost didn’t happen to Taste of Country in an interview last month.

“We flew in the night before, and I had been traveling pretty heavy,” Gallaher told the site. “We land in New York and my throat’s feeling kinda funky all of a sudden.” 

This illness struck hours before he was scheduled to play his single, “I’ll Take You” on Clarkson’s show. 

Gallaher continued, “ … I’ve been down this road before … any singer is going to battle with that at some point.”

Though true, most singers undoubtedly hope that point doesn’t occur before your first national TV performance that, oh by the way, also includes a live studio audience.

Unfortunately for Gallaher, his symptoms didn’t subside as the performance neared. In fact, they got worse.

“It got progressively worse – and fast,” the 34-year-old musician told Taste of Country. “Fast forward a couple of hours, I can barely talk. It was a crisis moment for sure, because this had to happen just before my national TV debut.”

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In an effort to curtail the illness, Gallaher and his publicist spent $150 on treatment products at a Walgreens in New York’s Times Square. “Every remedy you could possibly think of,” Gallaher said. 

After some rest – and surely, plenty of store-bought meds, Gallaher took the stage and performed without a hitch, telling Taste of Country, “At some point, you have to flip the switch and rock on. I mean, the show’s happening.”

Gallaher nailed the performance.

With his TV debut now behind him, Gallaher can concentrate on upcoming live performances in Dyersville, Iowa (September 26) and New Market, Tennessee (October 17). 

Hopefully neither date requires a pre-performance trip to Walgreens.