This was a year of many things. "Blurred Lines" dominated the airwaves, Miley Cyrus reigned over the news cycle and 17-year-old Lorde became the 2013's most unlikely pop champ. But one thing all of those A-list performers did not do is stomp offstage during their concerts. It might seem like they're in the minority. In a year where unruly crowds ran rampant and concertgoers expressed their distaste by pelting various objects onto the stage mid-performance, artists were lucky if they made it to the encore without any loathsome interruptions.
Here's a look at 10 performers, including one well-known comedian, who battled unfortunate conditions during their concerts and stormed off in fits of rage. (Not that we blame some of them, of course -- if only 40 people attended one of our shows, we'd leave too. Sorry, Brandy!)
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Selena Gomez
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Sound problems rattled Selena Gomez at the Los Angeles Jingle Ball concert on Dec. 6. The 21-year-old singer's microphone malfunctioned, and after trying to keep the crowd energized by saying "cooler" people would follow her in the night's lineup, she performed one more song -- "Come & Get It" -- before dropping the mic and leaving the stage. "She for sure said, 'What the f--k.' ... You could hear it crystal clear," a concertgoer told E! News.
Kayne West
PA
Kanye West was ready for his close-up, but lighting issues prevented the rapper from living up to his self-proclaimed "awesomeness" when he took the stage on Nov. 30 in Tampa, Fla. Yeezus marched offstage during the third song of his set before returning to chastise his tech crew with language that the Tampa Tribune felt was inappropriate to print. "He screamed at his tech crew; he barked at the audience," the Tampa Bay Times' music critic Sean Daly reported. "But just try looking away: The local crowd would sing along one minute, collectively hold its breath the next, worried the star would storm off (or perilously writhe off) the stage for good."
Brandy
PA
Brandy was surprised to walk onstage in South Africa to a crowd of 40 in the 90,000-capacity FNB Stadium. It wasn't a total insult, though -- fans didn't know to expect the singer at Nelson Mandela Sport and Culture Day, which attempted to surprise the crowd with her performance. It didn't work out in her favor, and Brandy left the stage after two songs.
Justin Bieber
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If you want Justin Bieber to finish the concert he started, don't throw a bottle at him. That's the lesson learned from an incident in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where a concertgoer chunked what appeared to be a water bottle onstage and knocked the microphone out of Bieber's hand. The singer left the stage and did not return, even though fans reportedly waited nearly an hour for a reappearance that never came.
Jack White
AP
Jack White was not pleased with the "NPR convention" that greeted him at Radio City Music Hall in September. The singer lambasted the New York crowd for its low energy, coupled with what Yahoo! Music reported was a displeasure with the venue's sound system. White abruptly left the stage after 45 minutes, leaving attendees cheering in hopes of an encore. He never returned, however, and fans were booted out minutes later.
Art Garfunkel
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The sound of silence, please! Art Garfunkel decided he'd had enough when, in June, a Long Island local official in attendance was more preoccupied with his cell phone than the performance happening in front of him. The 72-year-old folk-rock legend reportedly stormed offstage and returned 10 minutes later, only after the concertgoer apologized.
Lupe Fiasco
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Leave your tomatoes at home, Lupe Fiasco concertgoers. The 31-year-old rapper cut a Salt Lake City show short when a detractor pelted the squishy vegetable onto the stage. He wasn't going out lightly, though -- before exiting, Lupe Fiasco called the offender a "fat, white bitch" and threatened to cancel his next concert as well.
Fiona Apple
AP
Fiona Apple is no stranger to onstage meltdowns. During a Louis Vuitton event in Tokyo this past August, Apple found the crowd so unruly that she couldn't stand it anymore. After trying to get their attention by telling them to "shut the f--k up" and climbing on her piano, Apple reportedly scolded the room by saying "Predictable! Predictable fashion, what the f--k?” She then stormed off the stage.
Yelawolf
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Eminem prodigy Yelawolf didn't know the contract he'd signed before performing at LSU's student-run Groovin' on the Grounds concert stipulated that his set should comprise clean versions of his songs. The rapper walked off stage upon being informed that profanity wouldn't be tolerated. He forfeited the $17,000 he would have earned for the gig.
Dave Chappelle
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Yes, we know, Chappelle isn't a musician. But he's a performer, as evidenced by the heckling he faced at the Funny or Die Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival in Hartford, Conn. Chapelle ended his set after almost 30 minutes, the amount of time he needed to perform in order to get paid. The comedian spent the entire stint fighting pervasive boos that erupted through the crowd before bidding farewell and exiting to the sounds of Kanye West's "New Slaves."
