Michael Bolton appeared to need a quick nap before discussing the 50th anniversary of his start in the music business.
The Grammy-winning singer later blamed "a glitch" after he looked like he was taking a quick snooze during a live interview with Australia's "The Morning Show" on Tuesday.
After hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies introduced him for a live interview from Florida, Bolton, 65, shut his eyes on camera and did not respond to them as they tried to rouse him during an awkward silence.
"Maybe he’s just updating Instagram," Emdur joked.
"What time is it in Florida?" Gillies said.
"Cocktail time," Emdur replied.
Bolton briefly opened his eyes to say, "It's gone silent," and then closed his eyes again.
The hosts cut away from him, saying they would check to see if there were any technical difficulties.
Emdur and Gillies later gave it another shot, and the interview went off without a hitch. Bolton made no reference to the earlier moment, simply telling them he could hear them just fine, which was enough to get Emdur to pump his fist in triumph.
Bolton, who was promoting his newly-released 50th anniversary album, "A Symphony of Hits," clarified the situation in a tweet later on Tuesday.
"I got my first record deal when I was 15 and I haven’t slept since!!'' he wrote. "In all seriousness there were technical issues with the live feed and they caught me tweeting! We had a great interview once they fixed the glitch."
Bolton was as lively as ever in performing a medley of his biggest hits on TODAY last week. He also spoke about working with Lady Gaga and making it five decades in the entertainment business after getting his first record deal as a teenager.