The summer of 2010 is definitely not shaping up the way M.I.A., or her fans, would have expected. Her newest effort, // / Y /, has received fairly unsavory reviews, she was kicked off stage during the album’s release party at the Museum of Modern Art, and less than a month ago, she performed one of the worst sets imaginable at Hard NYC. She’s receiving harsher treatment than Lil Wayne does, and her troubles don’t at all appear to be slowing down. Over the weekend, she was forced to shorten at live performance at UK’s Big Chill Festival.
Only a few songs into her Saturday night headlining performance, M.I.A. did the popular thing and invited the hoard of English revelers up on stage. However, per the festival’s Twitter page, organizers were forced to pull the plug on the set early “due to overwhelming demand for fans to come on stage when only a few were expected.” Attendees reported that many fans sprinted from the back of the crowd for their opportunity to join the Sri-Lankan-born rapper on stage, and when the number grew to over 200 and many heard a “crash”, the concert was canceled for both the fans and M.I.A.’s safety. Big Chill admits that fans were injured, but none are considered severe. You can check a video clip of the mayhem below.
But don’t expect the tumultuous summer to keep the multi-talented artists down too long. The 35 year-old spent the first 8 years of her life displaced by the Sri Lankan civil war, and the lady’s tough enough to perform at the Grammy Awards just days before the birth of her first child. So, what’s a couple bad press releases? Plus, she’s pretty good at apologizing — promising NY fans a free performance to make up for the HARD debacle. If the promise for real, expect for the date to occur sometime at the end of August when she returns from further European dates.
