New York — From baring bras to tossing flowers, concert-goers have long been a bit extra about showing respect for their favorite artists — but a recent incident of heavy projectiles hitting artists has raised questions about extreme fan culture and safety. has caused concern.
Country singer Kelsea Ballerini was the latest performer to be hit by a flying object at a Boise concert Wednesday evening. In the moment captured on video, Ballerini is playing her guitar on stage when a bangle hits her in the face and she takes a step back.
Ballerini, clearly alert, takes a moment before a brief intermission is called.
“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 said Ballerini looked clearly upset. Highfill, who often attends concerts with her friends, said that it has become a common occurrence to see fans throwing things on stage at concerts.
“These kinds of things can be very dangerous,” he said. “It is disheartening to see that despite no ill intent, people are not thinking about the consequences that these people are pretending to have.”
On the same day, rapper Sexy Redd cut his own show short after fans refused to throw water bottles on stage.
Morgan Milardo, managing director of the Berklee Popular Music Institute in Boston, said some places will have signs that say “no mosh pits” or “no crowd surfing”—but probably signs that clearly say “on stage No throwing items” is now required to be added for the safety of the performers.
“Everyone at the concert is responsible for keeping each other safe,” he added. “Concerts offer a community where people can come together to share the magic of live music without having to worry about chicken nuggets getting in their eyes.”
The days of in-person fan clubs are long gone, but social media users can connect with Swifties or Beyhives online at any time or receive daily updates from accounts run by or dedicated to celebrities. Social media has created a deeper sense of connectedness and emotional closeness among fans, said Laurel Williams, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine.
This sense of closeness was reflected in a recent concert where a fan threw his mother’s ashes on stage while Pink was performing.
“Is this your mother?” Pink asked the fan. “I don’t know how to feel about it.”
Pop culture expert David Schmid of the University at Buffalo’s College of Arts and Sciences states that the idea of tossing objects onto the stage is historically based on the etymology of the word “fan”. A short form of fanaticism, it was originally a term associated with religious devotion. That said, and many people view celebrities as if they are gods or at least semi-divine beings.
“From that point of view you can read the stage as a kind of altar and the objects thrown on the stage as devotional objects,” said Schmid.
The role of social media has also changed the nature of the items being thrown on the platform. Instead of tossing notes, some people are throwing bulky cellphones on stage, hoping the artist will take it and record a moment for them. In some cases, it becomes a dangerous means of attracting attention.
On June 18, a man was arrested after throwing a cellphone at pop star Bebe Rexha’s face. According to a court 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 a photo of her black eye and bandaged face with a thumbs up on Instagram.
“I am fine,” she said in the post.
“Although the show ended in an unfortunate way, it was still an amazing show in my hometown,” she wrote in a later post.
While female performers have been targeted this month — including singer Ava Max, who was slapped at her Los Angeles show — even male performers like Harry Styles are facing projectiles heavier than underwear. Is kept. At a November 2022 concert, Styles could be seen tilting his head back in pain after being hit in the eye by a projectile.
Fan booing in the middle of a concert is nothing new: Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne infamously bit off the head of a live bat after a fan threw it on stage. Some punk fans may remember the days when concert goers would spit on performers to show their appreciation.
But with this type of behavior becoming more mainstream, venues, promoters and artists may want to consider beefing up security.
Paul Wertheimer, founder of Crowd Management Strategies/CrowdSafe, said that performers often have security contracts with the promoter, which lists what type of security the performer will pay for or want at the show. Venues may also decide what can be brought into or sold at the venue.
“You need proper security to protect the artist,” Wertheimer said.
After a deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld, questions have been raised about safety protocols at the concerts. With recent advances in surveillance technology such as facial recognition and crowd monitoring with artificial intelligence, fans will no longer be able to join a crowd after throwing a personal object at their favorite artist – even if it’s done in jest.
“The stage is an extremely powerful place on one level, but it’s also a place where you’re extremely vulnerable,” Schmidt said.
