Kanye Breaks Down During Paris Concert

Kanye West broke down on stage in Paris Saturday night, according to reports.

The rapper made his return to performing live less than a week after his mother, Donda West, died as the result of possible complications from a cosmetic surgical procedure.

Clips of a visibly emotional Kanye on stage were posted on YouTube.

According to audience members at the concert, who spoke to People, Kanye broke down during the riff in the song “Hey Mama.”

He reportedly said “this song is for my mother,” and did not finish the sentence at the Le Zenith venue in Paris.

“He just cracked,” a concert-goer told People. “He was at the end of his concert and had just started to dedicate the song and then he jus tlost it completely.”

“He said the word, ‘Mother’ and just couldn’t go any further,” Le Parisien journalist Meddy Magloire also told People. “A back-up singer, the DJ and a guitar player came over to console him. It looked like he might collapse. He just couldn’t continue. He just stood there in a spotlight, crying while the band continued playing.”

While the audience cheered for Kanye, the rapper was forced to leave the stage with his grief. He reportedly returned 10-15 minutes later and finished up the event with “Stronger.”

“He was very nervous, seemed to have gathered himself up, and had a lot of energy,” Magloire told People. “He kept shouting out to the audience, ‘I need you… I need you right now.‘ and the public was screaming back. It was magic.”

Earlier this week, Kanye was replaced at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show, by will.i.am, out of respect for the loss of his mother.

“I think he was kind of in shock. His heart really wanted to do it. But we told him to be with his family,” Victoria’s Secret President & CEO Sharen Turney told Access Hollywood, previously.