The concert year featured some critical, curious and emotional performances. A review.
At concerts, the focus is usually on music. But the year 2023 has once again proven that songs and performances can quickly become irrelevant during live performances. These stage moments remained in the memory.
Adele
The British singer Adele (35) caused a stir this year with her “Weekends with Adele” concerts in Las Vegas. The musician has already announced 32 more shows at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace next year. During their appearances in the US metropolis, there were several moments that made the headlines. For one thing, she helped expectant parents announce the gender of their baby. The emotional moment brought her to tears herself.
On the other hand, Adele gave an angry speech. At a concert in July, she asked her audience: “Have you noticed that people are forgetting damn show etiquette at the moment? People are just throwing crap on stage, have you seen that?” And added warningly: “Don’t be afraid. Dare to throw something at me and I’ll fucking kill you.”
US singer Pink (44) previously had to interrupt a concert after a visitor threw a bag containing his late mother’s ashes onto the stage. While no one was injured in this incident, musicians Kelsea Ballerini (30) and Bebe Rexha (34) did not get off so lightly. Both were hit in the face by hard projectiles during their concerts and were each slightly injured.
Harry Styles
Pop star Harry Styles (29) also fell victim to the throwing attacks. In July he was hit by an object on stage at his concert in Vienna. In a Twitter video recorded by a fan of the scene, the pop star can be seen walking along the stage when a small but seemingly heavy object hits him in the left eye. Styles, apparently startled by the pain, puts his hand to his eye and continues walking with his head bowed. Before that, something similar happened to the Grammy winner on stage in Cardiff: A bouquet of flowers hit him in the face. In Los Angeles last November, a handful of Skittles were thrown at his face by the audience, causing him to have to shield his eyes with his hand.
Cardi B
But even one star couldn’t contain herself and threw an object around. On July 29th, Cardi B (31) threw her microphone with full force into the audience during a performance in Las Vegas. The “I Like It” singer asked her fans to cool her down and spray her with water at Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub in Las Vegas. However, when she was showered with a drink from the audience, the rapper threw her microphone into the crowd with full force. A woman was hit in the head and reported it to the police. However, the investigation into bodily harm was stopped. The audio production company that owned the microphone auctioned it off for charity. According to the Los Angeles Times It brought in around 100,000 US dollars (the equivalent of around 91,500 euros).
Chris Brown
Chris Brown (34) also did not agree with a fan’s action. As “TMZ” reported, the singer first brought a concert-goer onto the stage in Berlin in March and wanted to reward her with a lap dance. The woman wanted to capture this special moment with a cell phone, which the musician apparently didn’t like. After he and his dancers danced around the woman sitting on a chair and she didn’t want to put her cell phone back in her pocket, he took it from her and threw it into the audience, to the astonishment of the fan. According to TMZ, the woman was ultimately able to find the cell phone and take it home.
Roger Waters
In May, Roger Waters (80) made headlines. The Berlin police initiated proceedings after the British rock musician’s performance in the capital. “We are investigating suspected incitement,” confirmed a police spokesman the “mirror”. The co-founder of Pink Floyd had played two concerts at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, wearing a black uniform with a red armband that resembled that of an SS officer. He also held a machine gun in his hand and faked shots during the song “In the Flesh”. Footage of this caused horror beyond Germany’s borders. Many other Waters concerts in Germany were accompanied by protests. The musician has attracted attention several times in recent years for criticizing Israel and has often been accused of anti-Semitism. He always denies the accusations.
At the beginning of October, Waters made another strange appearance in London. Instead of playing songs from the re-recording of the 1973 hit album “The Dark Side of the Moon,” he read according to the Evening Standard first an hour of his unpublished autobiography. When viewers complained, the musician is said to have declared that they should “fuck off”, which some fans are said to have put into action.
Rammstein
Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann (60) has not commented personally on the allegations that have surrounded him since May. But he repeatedly made allusions with which he took up the discourse surrounding the allegations of several women.
At the third Berlin concert, Lindemann caused a stir with his thanks to the fans at the end of the show. On July 18th, the Rammstein frontman thanked the audience after a good two hours of performance: “Three times in our city, three times in Berlin. Thank you for being there.” He added: “And always remember: you don’t believe evil tongues. The truth will come out anyway.”
On Saturday (July 15th), Lindemann did not sing the original line “Everyone is afraid of the black man” during the song “Fear” as he usually did. Instead, he sang the line “Everyone is afraid of Lindemann.” On Sunday (July 16th) he also replaced a text passage in the song “Ohne Dich”. In the second verse he swapped the words “Woe is me, oh woe. And the birds don’t sing anymore” with “And the singers don’t fuck anymore.”
According to the reports from female fans and allegations, the singer had denied all allegations. At the end of August, investigations by the Berlin public prosecutor’s office against him were discontinued. This emerged from a press release from Lindemann’s lawyers. This decision was made “due to a lack of sufficient suspicion,” it said.
Drake
Rapper Drake (37) provided rather funny and strange concert moments this year. On the one hand, at a concert in California in mid-August, he asked not to throw bras on stage. The reason for this was that his five-year-old son, Adonis Graham, was in the audience for the first time ever. “Listen, to be honest, I can’t talk about breasts here in Los Angeles today because it’s my son’s first time at a concert. So we have to act like parents today. You guys are keeping your bras on today.”
As “Billboard” reports, it was common practice at Drake’s concerts on his tour for female fans to throw their bras onto the stage. At one of his shows in July, the rapper discovered one of the lingerie items in the particularly large size 36G (European size: 80H).
On the other hand, also in August, at his concert in Los Angeles, he gave a concert-goer an unusual gift of very high value: As seen in a viral TikTok videothe musician gave away a pink Birkin bag to a female fan in the front row.
Flo Rida
The fact that Flo Rida (44) apparently has fans in all age groups is not well received by everyone. In August, TMZ reported from an appearance by the US rapper at the CelebrateErie festival. A baby was passed through the crowd and finally made it into Flo Rida’s arms. He held the microphone to the toddler’s mouth so that he could sing along with the roaring crowd. After the crowdsurfing event, the baby even found its way onto the stage, where it was lifted into the air in the style of “The Lion King”. The little fan’s appearance was on social media criticized. According to critics, a baby should not be at a concert, especially without hearing protection.