Another day, another TikTok trend. It's almost impossible for today's musicians to stay relevant if they don't keep up with the latest happenings on social media. It's part of the job. But what happens when the new trend is to throw objects at them to record them and then upload them to networks? We're not talking stuffed animals or underwear like we've been doing since pop, but solid objects that are more in line with what happened in punk, although that's closest to punk than Nick Jonas or Adele. They will never be there.
The audience's growing aggressiveness towards artists is obvious. In 2019, at a Drake concert, the Canadian artist took a fan's phone mid-concert, recorded his singing, and gave it back to him. He did it because he asked him to. But it's no longer a good question. This year in Chicago, the rapper had a cell phone thrown at him, hitting him in the arm. He ignored it and continued without further ado. But not all artists were so lucky. Bebe Rexha was hospitalized after a cellphone was thrown at her head during a song. Anything to achieve virality on social networks, because of course none of this happens without it being recorded and uploaded to the network. In Bebe Rexha's case, she required stitches to her forehead and had to wear safety glasses at her next concert. The attacker was also identified and brought to justice. According to the Los Angeles Times, it was a 27-year-old New Yorker who confessed to authorities that he did it because it was trending on TikTok and he liked the idea of hitting the singer at the end of her concert. funny” for him.
Other recent cases are less violent than Rexha's, but no less unusual. Harry Styles had chicken nuggets thrown at him at several concerts; to Lil Nas “Is that your mother?” “I don't know what to do or what to think about this,” the So What author told him.
Some scientists and experts are trying to figure out what reasons could be behind this chain of attacks. Some researchers – such as Jennifer Stevens Aubrey at the University of Arizona or Lucy Bennett at Cardiff University – advance the prevailing theory that the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions have fundamentally worsened young people's behavior at large events. However, there are no answers at the moment. One day someone decided to attack an artist and reproduce it on TikTok, but like any internet phenomenon, the exact origin is very difficult to trace.
Artists and experts are calling for an end to this. Some try to engage with the public and ask for respect, but others are running out of patience. Rapper 50 Cent used his microphone to hit an audience member who threw objects at him, just as Cardi B did to a woman who threw a glass full of liquid at him. The rapper threw the microphone at his head as her voice continued to come through the speakers, performing one of her latest hits. At a concert in Las Vegas last July, Adele couldn't hold back when she saw a fan who looked like he was throwing something at her: “Have you noticed how people are just forgetting fucking show etiquette and just shit throw.” in the landscape? Did you see that? I dare you, I dare you to throw something at me. “I swear I will kill you,” he screamed.