Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella
The Kid LAROI didn’t let fans down when the Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia, which he was scheduled to headline on Saturday (July 22), was unexpectedly cancelled.
The sudden cancellation of the festival came after The 1975’s performance on Friday, when frontman Matty Healy called the country’s restrictive LGBTQ laws “damn ridiculous” and shared a long kiss with bandmate Ross MacDonald on stage. In an official statement, Good Vibes pointed out that the decision was in line with a directive from the Ministry of Communications and Digital, which takes an “unwavering stance against all parties who challenge, ridicule or violate Malaysian law”.
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So on Saturday night, when there was no main concert in Kuala Lumpur, LAROI brought an abridged version of his show to a local hotel bar.
“Two things before I begin. I’m very drunk, number one. Since the show was canceled I had no choice but to go straight to the bar. So here I am,” he said to a modest but enthusiastic crowd that began to gather.
“I’m with my friends today and figured since everything has been canceled and I’m here anyway, I might as well come over and sing some songs,” LAROI said to cheer. “Thank you to the hotel for letting me do this.”
LAROI started his brief performance with “Thousand Miles”. Although the order of the hotel bar setlist is unclear based on various video clips taken by fans, he also sang “Stay”, “Without You” and “Diva”.
At the end of his impromptu mini-set, if he could have performed for her on the festival stage that night, he joked: “I’d be a lot better off not being drunk and actually knowing how to talk to you guys.”
Previously, LAROI posted on his Instagram Stories, “I landed and found out the festival has been cancelled…I love you Malaysia, I’m sorry,” then shared a selfie with fans at the hotel. He wrote: “Met some new friends what’s uuuupppp?”
“Maybe I’ll sing a few songs in the hotel bar,” he announced via Stories.
Watch several clips from his surprise performance in the hotel bar below.