$wpdb->query() fails when multiple UPDATE statements are used

Issue:

I am making PHP build a MySQL statement inside of a string, based on changes it detects in an array.

The following statement succeeds with $wpdb->query()

UPDATE MyTable_artists SET first_name = "Jacob", thumbnail = "Option 2" WHERE id = "1";

However, the following statement fails with $wpdb->query()

UPDATE MyTable_artists SET first_name = "Jacob", thumbnail = "Option 2" WHERE id = "1"; UPDATE MyTable_artists SET thumbnail = "Option 2" WHERE id = "2"; UPDATE MyTable_artists SET thumbnail = "Option 2" WHERE id = "4";

Extra Info:

The statement only seems to succeed when running a single UPDATE. More than one UPDATE statement seems to cause a failure.

This is strange in that running the multiple UPDATE statements through PhpMyAdmin does not produce any errors.

Running the string variable through a var_dump() does not reveal any strange characters hiding within the string.

Solution:

No solution yet – Any insights or suggestions are greatly appreciated, and I will update this ticket once I discover what is wrong.