Lionel Richie Jokes He Was 'Upstaged' by 11-Year-Old Breakdancing Fan at UK Festival Performance

Fans of Lionel Richie are always ready to dance all night long.

During the R&B icon's performance at Cambridge Club Festival in the U.K. on Saturday, a young fan was lifted over the barricade to show off her breakdancing skills as Richie sang, leading him to joke that he was "upstaged."

According to reporting and video from Daily Mail, the 73-year-old Commodores musician was in the midst of singing his catalog of hits when the young fan, Evie, was plucked out of the crowd to bust some moves.

"They say animals and kids will always upstage you, and I've just been upstaged," said Richie, per the outlet. "That was sneaky!"

Evie, who attended the show with her sister Abi, 7, told Daily Mail afterward: "I love dancing to Lionel's songs with my sister. He is my favorite singer."

The young dancer continued, "I can't believe he liked my breakdancing. I had lots and lots of fun at the show and will remember it forever!"

Cambridge Club Festival also featured performances from  Grace Jones, Kool & the Gang and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Richie's been spending quite a bit of time in the U.K. lately. Last month, he attended King Charles' crowning ceremony, headlined the coronation concert and got the King to appear on American Idol  with Queen Camilla.

In an interview with Extra after the royal Idol appearance, Richie said, "I've known the King quite a long time. He does have this amazing sense of humor that no one knows about. He's a secret comedian."

"For him to actually take the step and go out of the comfort zone — which was actually his comfort zone — he was hamming it up," said the Idol judge of the King's guest spot.

Richie then detailed how he made the appearance happen: "The highlight for me was that I actually walked up to the King the day after the coronation and said, 'Would you like to be on American Idol and he said, 'Yeah.'"

"And the second thing that was the highlight was he said, 'Alright if I bring the Queen?' 'Uh, yeah,'" recalled the "All Night Long (All Night)" performer.

He added of King Charles, 74, and Queen Camilla, 75, at the time: "They are an amazing couple. On top of that, they are putting so much good out in the world with the Prince's Trust." Richie was appointed the First Global Ambassador and First Chairman of the Global Ambassador Group for The Prince's Trust in 2019.