These concerts made the headlines in 2023

From Cardi B to Roger Waters - These concerts made the headlines in 2023

At concerts, the music usually takes center stage. But 2023 proved once again that songs and performances can quickly become a minor matter during live appearances. These stage moments will be remembered.

Adele

British singer Adele (35) caused a sensation 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 for next year. During her performances in the US metropolis, there were several moments that made the headlines. Firstly, she helped expectant parents announce the sex of their baby. The emotional moment moved her to tears herself.

Secondly, Adele gave an angry speech. At a concert in July, she asked her audience: "Have you noticed that people are forgetting fucking show etiquette at the moment? People are just throwing crap on stage, have you seen that?" And added warningly: "I dare you. Dare to throw anything at me and I'll fucking kill you."

US singer Pink (44) previously had to interrupt a concert after an audience member threw a bag containing the ashes of her deceased mother onto the stage. While no one was injured in this incident, the 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 sustained minor injuries.

Harry Styles

Pop star Harry Styles (29) was also a victim of 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 supposedly heavy object hits him in the left eye. Styles is apparently startled in pain, holds his hand to his eye and walks on with his head down. Before that, something similar had happened to the Grammy winner on stage in Cardiff: A bouquet of flowers hit him in the face there. In Los Angeles last November, a handful of Skittles were thrown in his face by the audience, whereupon he had to protect his eyes with his hand.

Cardi B

But even a star couldn't stop himself and threw an object around. On July 29, Cardi B (31) threw her microphone into the audience with full force during a performance in Las Vegas. The "I Like It" singer had asked her fans at "Drai's Beachclub & Nightclub" in Las Vegas to cool her down and splash her with water. However, when she was then showered with a drink from the audience, the rapper threw her microphone into the crowd with full force. One woman was hit on the head and reported the incident to the police. However, the police dropped the investigation into assault. The audio production company that owned the microphone auctioned it off for charity. According to the Los Angeles Times, it fetched around 100,000 US dollars (the equivalent of around 91,500 euros).

Chris Brown

Chris Brown (34) also disagreed with a fan's action. As reported by TMZ, the singer initially brought a concertgoer on 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 apparently did not suit the musician. After he and his dancers danced around the woman sitting on a chair and she refused to put her cell phone back in her pocket, he took it from her and threw it into the audience, much to the amazement of the fan. According to "TMZ", the woman was able to find the cell phone again in the end and take it home with her.

Roger Waters

Roger Waters (80) made headlines in May. The Berlin police initiated proceedings after the British rock musician's performance in the capital. "We are investigating on suspicion of incitement to hatred," a police spokesperson confirmed to Der Spiegel. The co-founder of Pink Floyd had played two concerts in 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 during the song "In the Flesh" and feigned firing. Recordings of this caused horror beyond the borders of Germany. Many other Waters concerts in Germany were accompanied by protests. The musician has already attracted attention several times in recent years for his criticism of Israel and has often been accused of anti-Semitism. He always rejects the accusations.

At the beginning of October, Waters made another strange appearance in London. Instead of playing songs from the new recording of the hit album "The Dark Side of the Moon", released in 1973, he first read from his unpublished autobiography for an hour , according to the Evening Standard. When audience members complained, the musician is said to have told them to "fuck off", which some fans are said to have done.

Rammstein

For a long time, Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann (60) has not commented personally on the accusations that have accompanied him through the public eye since May. However, he repeatedly alluded to the discourse surrounding the accusations made by 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 18, the Rammstein frontman thanked the audience after a good two-hour performance: "Three times in our city, three times 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 15), Lindemann didn't sing the original line "Alle haben Angst vorm schwarzen Mann" (Everyone is afraid of the bogeyman) on the song "Angst" as he usually does. Instead, he sang the line "Everyone is afraid of Lindemann". On Sunday (July 16), he also replaced a passage of text 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".

Following reports from female fans and accusations, the singer denied all allegations. At the end of August, investigations by the Berlin public prosecutor's office against him were dropped. This emerged from a press release from Lindemann's lawyers. This decision was made "due to a lack of sufficient suspicion", they said.

Drake

Rapper Drake (37) provided some rather funny and curious concert moments this year. Firstly, at a concert in California in mid-August, he requested that no bras be thrown on stage. The reason for this was that his five-year-old son Adonis Graham was in the audience for the very first time. "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 keep your bras on today."

As "Billboard" reports, it was common practice at Drake's concerts as part of his tour for female fans to throw their bras on stage. At one of his shows in July, the rapper discovered a particularly large size 36G (in European size: 80H) among the lingerie.

He also gave a concertgoer an unusual gift of very high value at his concert in Los Angeles in August: as can be seen in a viral TikTok video, the musician gave a pink Birkin bag to a female fan in the front row.

Flo Rida

The fact that Flo Rida (44) apparently has fans of all ages does not go down well with everyone. In August, "TMZ" reported on a performance by the US rapper at the CelebrateErie festival. A baby was passed through the crowd and eventually made it into Flo Rida's arms. The latter held the microphone to the toddler's mouth so that he could sing along with the roaring crowd. After the crowdsurfing action, 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 criticized on social media. According to the critics, a baby, especially one without hearing protection, should not be at a concert.