DETROIT (AP) — R&B star El DeBarge has entered a rehabilitation center and dropped out of a national tour with KEM and Ledisi that’s scheduled to kick off Friday in Texas.
The 49-year-old singer said in a statement he hates to disappoint his fans, but voluntarily checked into the center “to deal with issues stemming from many years of substance abuse.”
He has battled drug addiction for the past two decades.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH theGRIO’S TODD JOHNSON INTERVIEW EL DeBARGE:
[NBCVIDEO source=”UNIWIDGET” video=”http://widgets.nbcuni.com/singleclip/singleclip_v1.swf?CXNID=1000004.08052NXC&WID=4a784acd2b1a7e80&clipID=1253102″ w=”400″ h=”400″]
The Michigan native headed up the group DeBarge, which hit it big in the 1980s with No. 1 hits such as “Time Will Reveal” and “Rhythm of the Night.”
El DeBarge triumphantly returned last year with the release of “Second Chance,” his first album of new music in 16 years, earning two Grammy nominations for his work on the record.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.