EXCLUSIVE: ‘Don’t say I’m no Adele!’ Luke Bryan refuses to cancel Vegas act even though he was SICK as he pulls off rollicking performance while making Blake Shelton jokes and paying tribute to ‘friend’ Lionel Richie

Luke Bryan sure is a man of commitment.

Even though the country singer was ‘sick as sh*t’ on Saturday evening, he managed to pull off a rollicking, joyful performance at the Resorts World Las Vegas in Nevada.

The American Idol judge showed up on time and in his usual party attire with his hat on backwards as he was honest with the crowd.

‘I almost canceled tonight and that is not an April Fool’s joke,’ he shared with the audience, DailyMail.com learned. ‘But I didn’t want to do that, I wanted to show up to be with y’all tonight, and here I am. It might be rough, but we will get through it and have a good time.’

Then he told fans to have patience with his voice quality as he joked, ‘Don’t say I am no Adele.’ 

Bryan, 46, explained that he stayed up too late the night before as he gambled with his nephew, hinting he lost a small fortune on the casino floor. 

Tough guy: ‘I almost canceled tonight,’ he shared with the audience, DailyMail.com learned. ‘But I didn’t want to do that, I wanted to show up to be with y’all tonight, and here I am’; here he had a cocktail in his hand

The audience didn’t seem to mind one bit as they cheered him on. 

The show kicked off on time with Luke starting with a string of his top hits like Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day, Rain Is A Good Thing, Knockin’ Boots, Crash My Party and One Margarita.

He then took a break to talk to the audience and explained with a laugh that he felt like he was ‘going to die’ but was going to get through it with ‘straight tequila’ which he drank out of a red SOLO cup.

He was also seen with a margarita glass. 

The crowd did not seem to mind at all that Luke was ill, and one audience female member even took his drink to enjoy after he offered it to her.

‘That is straight tequila!’ he warned the woman. ‘Your date is going to get lucky tonight but you may not remember a thing,’ he added, seeming concerned before telling her to ‘be careful.’ 

And Bryan then said that he was going to give his performance his all on Saturday because he was off for the next two weeks and had plenty of time to ‘recover.’ 

He also took time out to bring up another celebrity.

‘People say I have a feud with Blake Shelton,’ he said with a laugh, adding he was not sure about that one.

Fun guy: Bryan, 46, explained that he maybe stayed up too late the night before as he gambled with his nephew. Then he told fans to have patience with his voice quality as he joked, ‘Don’t say I am no Adele’

But later in the concert when he got the room booing on purpose he quipped, ‘Now I know what it feels like to be Blake Shelton.’

The feud is indeed fake as the two have been good friends for decades.

But they have been on competing shows: which Luke is on American Idol, Blake was for many years on The Voice.

Luke also paid tribute to his American Idol costar Lionel Richie.

‘I actually know Lionel Richie, that is incredible, I am lucky,’ he shared with the audience.

‘When I call him he answers on the first ring!’ he added, sounding proud of the friendship.

His TV pals: He paid tribute to Lionel Richie, far left. Next at Resorts World will be Katy Perry, center

He then got on his piano and beautifully sang Endless Love, which Lionel recorded with Diana Ross in 1981. It went with a film starring Brooke Shields. 

Next at Resorts World is his American Idol costar Katy Perry who performs on April 5.

Luke’s full name is Thomas Luther ‘Luke’ Bryan. 

Bryan is a country singer, songwriter, who plays both the guitar and piano, who hails from Georgia.

He began his music career writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington before signing with Capitol Nashville in 2007. 

He is one of the most successful and awarded country artists of the past decade. 

Happy to know him: Luke also paid tribute to his Richie. ‘I actually know Lionel Richie, that is incredible, I am lucky,’ he shared with the audience. ‘When I call him he answers on the first ring!’ he added, sounding proud of the friendship. He then got on his piano and beautifully sang Endless Love, which Lionel sang with Diana Ross in 1981