Well damn, that was painful to watch.

alot of times performers will go on mainly because of "where" the show is and if they want to re-schedule or not, im not slighting Germany here, but im sure thats how they were looking at it. Mariah Carey did one of her lamest shows ever in CT on the Emancipation Tour, she had 2 opening acts, played under 90 minutes and they minus all her wardrobe changes her show was shorter than her opening acts, this was done because "the crowd was small" and the venue not sold out, this shit happens alot, and it really sucks because even if one person shows up they deserve a show, and as for Usher pure diva drama male dick ego, im sure Chris Brown will be doing this "sick" act next tour

That was so embarassing. When Kylie cancelled halfway through she did it with absolute dignity and then rescheduled: http://www.youtube.com/wa...xMhHmSHA_0

[Edited 1/15/11 12:40pm]

StonedImmaculate said:

He had to know backstage prior to going on whether or not he could do it.

Unfortunately he's in a no win situation...whatever he decided to do, he was going to disappoint.

Yes, it really it is a no-win situation. A friend of mine saw Maxwell a year or so ago and he was hoarse and announced he was sick but refused to cancel. My friend said she would have preferred that he'd just cancel because his voice was awful and he had the crowd sing for large portions of the show. She ended up leaving early and feeling as if her money is wasted.

Performing on a stage is different than just "going to work" as some referenced upthread. While I have gone to work sick/miserable and just pushed through, no one was excitedly waiting for me to entertain them. It's a tough call for entertainers.

I really enjoyed hearing this perspective from Boyz II Men about doing shows under non optimal circumstances that I heard in this interview a few months ago.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...ff92s_R1lU

119 said:

StonedImmaculate said:

He had to know backstage prior to going on whether or not he could do it.

Unfortunately he's in a no win situation...whatever he decided to do, he was going to disappoint.

Yes, it really it is a no-win situation. A friend of mine saw Maxwell a year or so ago and he was hoarse and announced he was sick but refused to cancel. My friend said she would have preferred that he'd just cancel because his voice was awful and he had the crowd sing for large portions of the show. She ended up leaving early and feeling as if her money is wasted.

Performing on a stage is different than just "going to work" as some referenced upthread. While I have gone to work sick/miserable and just pushed through, no one was excitedly waiting for me to entertain them. It's a tough call for entertainers.

I really enjoyed hearing this perspective from Boyz II Men about doing shows under non optimal circumstances that I heard in this interview a few months ago.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...ff92s_R1lU

Reminds me of Whitney's recent performances...

StonedImmaculate said:

He had to know backstage prior to going on whether or not he could do it.

Unfortunately he's in a no win situation...whatever he decided to do, he was going to disappoint.

Must be the extra pressure of trying to be the new MJ.

purplecam said:

Messy. Very messy. I'm with Timmy, if you know your ass is in no condition to perform, you reschedule it when you are feeling better. I would've booed his wack ass too. All the money I would've spent, please.

true

Why did he even bother if he was going to just stand around and feel bad for himself?

StonedImmaculate said:

He had to know backstage prior to going on whether or not he could do it.

Unfortunately he's in a no win situation...whatever he decided to do, he was going to disappoint.

Must be the extra pressure of trying to be the new MJ.

If that were the case wouldn't he just lip-synch while sitting in an armchair?

119 said:

StonedImmaculate said:

He had to know backstage prior to going on whether or not he could do it.

Unfortunately he's in a no win situation...whatever he decided to do, he was going to disappoint.

Yes, it really it is a no-win situation. A friend of mine saw Maxwell a year or so ago and he was hoarse and announced he was sick but refused to cancel. My friend said she would have preferred that he'd just cancel because his voice was awful and he had the crowd sing for large portions of the show. She ended up leaving early and feeling as if her money is wasted.

Performing on a stage is different than just "going to work" as some referenced upthread. While I have gone to work sick/miserable and just pushed through, no one was excitedly waiting for me to entertain them. It's a tough call for entertainers.

I really enjoyed hearing this perspective from Boyz II Men about doing shows under non optimal circumstances that I heard in this interview a few months ago.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...ff92s_R1lU

Yeah, I heard the same thing about Maxwell when he was on tour. The reviews were mixed and his ticket prices were through the roof, as much as $260 per person. INSANE! He ended up canceling the rest of his tour due to him being sick/sluggish ticket sales.

lastdecember said:

alot of times performers will go on mainly because of "where" the show is and if they want to re-schedule or not, im not slighting Germany here, but im sure thats how they were looking at it. Mariah Carey did one of her lamest shows ever in CT on the Emancipation Tour, she had 2 opening acts, played under 90 minutes and they minus all her wardrobe changes her show was shorter than her opening acts, this was done because "the crowd was small" and the venue not sold out, this shit happens alot, and it really sucks because even if one person shows up they deserve a show, and as for Usher pure diva drama male dick ego, im sure Chris Brown will be doing this "sick" act next tour

Timmy84 said:

Why did he even go through the concert and then cancel at the last minute. Today's entertainers crack me up. If you can't carry a show, cancel, if not, try to keep it moving. What an idiot.

[Edited 1/14/11 9:33am]

Because in Germany if U perform at least 5 songs the artist don't have to give refunds back. Its still considered a concert no matter how horrible the songs were performed...PRINCE would have never done that though. He would have just cancelled period without going on stage...

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Timmy84 said:

Why did he even go through the concert and then cancel at the last minute. Today's entertainers crack me up. If you can't carry a show, cancel, if not, try to keep it moving. What an idiot.

[Edited 1/14/11 9:33am]

Because in Germany if U perform at least 5 songs the artist don't have to give refunds back. Its still considered a concert no matter how horrible the songs were performed...PRINCE would have never done that though. He would have just cancelled period without going on stage...

That's what Usher should've done: cancel it before going onstage.

Timmy84 said:

SCNDLS said:

This is not the Usher I saw back in November. He gave one of the best live performances I've seen in YEARS and was not lipsynching at all cuz I was in his grill checking. One thing about Usher, he's been in the game for two decades and has been a consistently great live performer. He's definitely a throwback to real, old school entertainers and not a flake or faker like most of those of his generation. This was his second time cancelling in Germany so maybe he was trynna push himself to deliver a show and just couldn't. It's not like this is his MO or something so why folks can't cut him some slack?

He should've thought about his "sickness" before doing the concerts in Germany, that's all I'm saying.

I agree, but at the risk of getting sued by concert promoters for not doing the show at all?

TonyVanDam said:

Timmy84 said:

He should've thought about his "sickness" before doing the concerts in Germany, that's all I'm saying.

I agree, but at the risk of getting sued by concert promoters for not doing the show at all?

I think this tour is mismanaged.

Timmy84 said:

TonyVanDam said:

I agree, but at the risk of getting sued by concert promoters for not doing the show at all?

I think this tour is mismanaged.

Not that I condone this as a safe idea, but if this was Jimi Hendrix, Rick James, OR Teena Marie, these artists would have just take a few drugs to get through the pain and then do the entire 2 hours show like everything is normal.

The main problem with some of today's artists like Usher is that they NEVER have a Plan B. When music fans show up for a concert performance, they don't want to hear any excuses about how and why you're too sick to given them 2 hours worth of live entertainment. Just take 2 Advils with a tall glass of iced coffee and get your ass out there on stage. Plain and simple!

[Edited 1/17/11 16:23pm]

musicjunky318 said:

He was sick. At least he tried to finish. Same thing happened to Ne-Yo recently.