The new danger that musical artists are facing at their concerts
Artists such as Bebe Rexha, Pink and Harry Styles have been attacked by their audience throwing objects at them during their performances.
(Cordon Press)
Fans throwing objects at performers at concerts to get their attention has become a growing and dangerous trend. The latest case was recently experienced by rapper Cardi B. A fan threw a drink at her while the artist was playing a concert in Las Vegas, and she did not hesitate to respond. The rapper threw a microphone at the fan who had splashed her with a drink:
The consequences of throwing a microphone did not take long to reach the singer. According to TMZ, the next day, the fan reported the altercation to the Las Vegas Police Department, who decided to investigate the incident. A few days later, the microphone was auctioned on eBay and reached a value of $99,900, Billboard reports.
This type of behavior from fans is far from an isolated incident. It represents a new example of how artists are being targeted by their fans. These are some of the most notable cases:
Bebe Rexha and Drake attacked with cell phones
For many, a cell phone is a device essential for modern life. That is why it is surprising that several singers claimed that their fans had thrown cell phones at them during their shows. Both Bebe Rexha and Drake have been attacked with them.
Rexha's case was the most serious. She was hit by a mobile phone while performing in New York last June. The cell phone hit the artist squarely in the eye, forcing her to stop the concert and leaving her with stitches and a black eye for a couple of weeks:
The incident ended with her follower apologizing and assuring Rolling Stone that it was an accident. The intention was to throw the phone at the artist so that she could take a selfie, something that has been popularized on TikTok:
Canadian rapper Drake was a bit luckier. A phone was thrown at him during his concert in Chicago, but fortunately it only caught him on the arm. The device bounced off of Drake, and after checking that his arm was not injured, he continued with his performance:
Harry Styles hit in the face
As seen with Drake, women aren't the only ones whose fans are throwing things at them in the middle of a show. Men can also fall victim to this trend. British pop star Harry Styles was hit in the eye by a mysterious object during a concert in Vienna:
It is not the first time that the singer has been hit by a flying object mid-concert. In 2022, CNN recalls, the artist was hit by several Skittles candies during a performance in Los Angeles. Following this, the candy brand itself wrote a post on Twitter: "Please don't throw Skittles":
Rosalía hit with a bouquet of roses
Rosalía is another artist who has been hit by flying objects on stage. However, the Spanish singer might consider herself lucky regarding the objects that were thrown at her, as they were a bit less harmful than some of the examples above.
According to Diario Critico, the Spaniard was hit by a bouquet of roses in San Diego in October 2022. She did not hesitate to point to the direction from which the flowers came, pretending to throw an arrow to return the shot. That same night, Rosalía posted the following message asking her fans to refrain from throwing any kind of object at her during her performances:
A fan throws a sex toy at Lil Nas X
Any object can be thrown by fans to their favorite singers, just ask Lil Nas X. He received a curious gift from one of his fans during his performance in Stockholm on July 1. It happened at the Lollapalloza festival while the rapper was performing his song "Down Souf Hoes."
Europa FM reports that one of the show's attendees threw an object that landed directly at the artist's feet. Lil Nas X, surprised, examined the object in question and discovered that it was a sex toy. Right after, after a few seconds of absolute silence, the young artist asked: "Who put they p**** on stage?!"
A mother's ashes: the odd gift thrown at Pink
The object thrown at Pink during her performance in London in June this year was a bit more unsettling. According to Rolling Stone, the singer was in the middle of her show at the British Summer Festival when she was hit by a Ziploc bag full of ashes.
The singer, surprised, paused her performance and moved the contents to the edge of the stage. There, she asked her fan: "Is this your mom? I don’t know how I feel about this." Pink was clearly still a bit flustered while she continued to perform "Just Like a Pill" and even during the rest of her performance.
Singers Adele and Billie Eilish speak out against their fans throwing objects at them
The trend has become so popular that several singers have spoken out asking their followers not to throw objects on stage, whatever the object or intention may be. The first to speak on the subject was Adele. She did it during her performance in Las Vegas just after the curious gifts that Lil Nas X and Pink had received went viral.
She spent a moment during her show talking about the trend with her fans, who she asked if they had noticed how people seemed to have "forgotten f***ing show etiquette." The singer continued her speech by challenging her followers: "I f***ing dare you, I dare you to throw something at me." She concluded her rant by launching t-shirts at her fans.
Billie Eilish soon joined Adele, also expressing how she felt about fans throwing objects. She spoke to The Hollywood Reporter during the premiere of "Barbie" and was asked about this new trend. To which the singer replied that she had mixed feelings since she understood her followers but, at the same time, she felt frustrated and "vulnerable":
Her brother, producer Finneas Eilish, was more blunt than the singer and asked all fans of both her sister and other artists not to join this dangerous trend: "Don’t throw things onstage, but we love you; it’s very sweet."
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