Estimated reading time: 5-6 minutes
NEW YORK — From swinging breasts to flower-throwing, concertgoers have long been a little extra when it comes to showing appreciation for their favorite artists — but a recent spate of artists being hit with heavy-hitting projects is raising concerns about high-profile fan culture and safety.
Country singer Kelsey Ballerini was the latest artist to be struck by a flying object at a Boyz concert on Wednesday evening. In the moment captured on video, the ballerina was playing her guitar on stage when a bracelet hit her in the face and she took a step back.
Ballerini, clearly caught, takes a moment before calling for a brief interruption.
“Hi I’m fine,” she later said on Instagram. “Someone threw a bracelet, it hit me in the eye and it scared me more than it hurt me.”
Ashley Highfill, 30, was at the Idaho Botanical Garden show and Ballerini said he seemed upset. Highfill, who often attends concerts with friends, said it has become a common occurrence to see fans throwing objects at concerts.
“Things like that can be very dangerous,” she said. Although there is no bad intention, it is very disappointing to see people showing these people on a show without thinking about the consequences.
That same day, rapper Sexy Redd interrupted her own performance after fans refused to stop throwing water bottles on stage.
Morgan Milardo, managing director of the Berklee Institute of Music in Boston, says some venues have signs that say “no mosh pits” or “no crowd surfing” — but maybe they need signs that say “no throwing things on stage.” Increase to protect artists.
“Everyone who attends a concert has a responsibility to protect each other,” she said. “Concerts should provide a community where people can come together to share the magic of live music, without having to worry about getting poked in the eyeball by a chicken.”
Gone are the days of physical fan clubs, but social media users can always join Swifties or the Beyhive online, or get daily updates from celebrity-driven or dedicated accounts. Laurel Williams, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, says social media has created deeper connections and emotional intimacy for fans.
This sense of intimacy was present at a recent concert by Pink, where a fan threw their mother’s ashes on stage.
“Is this your mother?” Rose asked the fan. “I don’t know how to feel about that.”
David Schmid, a pop culture expert at the University at Buffalo’s College of Arts and Sciences, said the idea of throwing objects on stage goes back to the word “fan” in history. Short for fanaticism, it was originally a term associated with religious devotion. And many, he says, “tend to see celebrities as gods, or at least semi-divine beings.”
“From that point of view, you can read the stage as an altar and the objects thrown onto the stage as objects of worship,” Schmid said.
The role of social media has also changed the nature of the material being thrown onto the stage. Instead of throwing notes, some are throwing cellphones onto the stage, hoping the player will catch them and record the moment. In some cases, it ends up being dangerous for attention.
On June 18, a man was arrested for throwing a mobile phone that hit pop singer Bebe Recha in the face. According to the court’s criminal complaint, the man later told a third party that he hit the artist because he thought it would be “funny.” After the New York concert, Rexha shared her black eye and bandaged face with a thumbs up on Instagram.
“I’m fine,” she said in the post.
“Even though the show ended in tragedy, it was still a wonderful show in my hometown,” she wrote in the next post.
While female artists have been targets this month – including singer Ava Max, who was slapped at a Los Angeles show – even male performers like Harry Styles have faced a more serious project than underwear. In the year At a November 2022 concert, Styles is seen throwing his head back in pain after being hit in the eye by a projectile.
Fan mid-concert heists aren’t necessarily new: Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne bit his head off after a fan threw him on stage. Some punk fans remember a time when concertgoers would spit on the artists to show their appreciation.
But as this kind of behavior becomes more common, venues, promoters and artists may want to beef up security.
According to Paul Wertheimer, founder of Crowd Management Strategies/Crowdsafe, artists often have a security contract with the promoter that outlines what kind of security the artist will pay or require at the event. Venues may decide to limit what can be brought in or sold at the venue.
“You have to have proper security to protect the artist,” Wertimer said.
Safety protocols at concerts have come into question after the deadly 2021 Astroworld crowd surge. With recent advances in surveillance technology, such as facial recognition and artificial intelligence crowd tracking, fans can no longer hide in the crowd after throwing a punch at a favorite artist – even if it’s done in jest.
“The stage is a very powerful place on one level, but it’s also a place where you’re most vulnerable,” Schmid said.
Photos
Latest entertainment stories
More stories you might want
[ad_2]