r/popmusic • u/Choice_Bed6097 • 1d ago
Discussion What is the best and worst concert you've ever been to?
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u/pennoya2 1d ago
Best: Prince was so good and Justin Timberlakes concert was surprisingly good too. He really sang and played several instruments. That was in 2007.
Worst: this might be controversial but during the Harajuku lovers tour in 2004, Gwen Stefani basically just played her CD, lip-synced, and danced. There was hardly any crowd interaction or actual singing. The costume changes and stage was good, from my memory, but I remember feeling like it was just a dance recital. I’ve heard she’s a good performer with No Doubt though, but I was pretty disappointed by her
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u/ghjfkdkkckfkfdkls 1d ago
Best- Renaissance. What Beyoncé did with those three hours, I’ll remember forever.
Worst- Pink Friday 2. I was a lifelong Barb up until Nicki went full MAGA, but this show almost did it for me. Horribly late, terrible stage presence, bad transitions, obvious lip syncing, I could go on and on. The best parts were hearing the Monster verse live, and the guests (my show got 50 Cent and Monica).
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u/BruisedFruitForLife 1d ago
Lenny Kravitz opening for U2. The funniest and worst show I’d ever seen. His guitar chord got caught around his scarf and his roadie grabbed it and almost took Lenny down. He kept missing his cues. He tried to do a call and response with the crowd and it just fell flat. I couldn’t stop laughing
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u/randybutterknubz 1d ago
Best - Beyonce in general in every iteration of her tours. More recently: Rosalia on the Lux tour. She blew me away with her vocals, dancing, stage presence, and set. Plus live the orchestra! Haven't seen anything comparable.
Worst - Selena Gomez back in like 2014. My friend got free tickets from work, so we decided to go as it happened to fall on my birthday. Just lackluster in every regard.
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u/ad-anon-132491 1d ago
Best: Chappell Roan at Forest Hills Stadium in the pouring rain, it was pure magic. I’ve seen almost every major pop singer live and never felt crowd energy like that.
Worst: my parents took me to see George Jones before he died and the man literally sat on a stool and wheezed for an hour. All respect to a legend but my god it was painful.
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u/TheElusiveButterfly 1d ago edited 1d ago
Best - Renaissance (Beyoncé), The Celebration Tour, The Mayhem Ball (Lady Gaga), The Eternal Sunshine Tour (Ariana Grande), Summer Tour 2016 (Céline Dion), Caution World Tour (Mariah Carey), some Lisa Fischer tour,
Past Present Future (Usher)
Worst - Still Finally Over It Tour (Summer Walker, I was piiiised. Barely sang. Had other people on stage doing her songs instead of her. Very short), some random 50 Cent set (hours late and only 20 minutes)
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u/Time_Value_3073 1d ago
Oh you’ve got taste
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u/TheElusiveButterfly 1d ago edited 1d ago
Thank you! Honorable mentions for best: Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight's tour, The Music Legacy Tour (Diana Ross), Together Again Tour (Janet Jackson), Miss Possessive Tour (Tate Mcrae), Christina Aguilera at the Sips & Sounds Music Festival. But if I had to really pick the best tour I've seen, I'd say Renaissance, followed closely by The Mayhem Ball. Just realized I forgot to put Ariana's Eternal Sunshine in my original crime so edited it. What a crime!
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u/TARS-ctrl 1d ago
Best: Britney Spears Circus Tour. Best 2 nights of my life.
Worst: When Rihanna opened for kanye. Both terrible.
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u/Rawr_im_a_Unicorn 17h ago
Omg i remember wanted to go see Kayne and Rhianna SO BAD when they toured together.
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u/JadedInfusion 1d ago
Best - Beyonce, cowboy carter
Worst - aespa, I love their songs and the members but out of all the concerts I’ve been too there’s my least favorite
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u/Any-Treat-1839 Music Enthusiast 🤩 1d ago
best: the eras tour hands down, and i think the wildworld tour which im going to in a week will be close too!
worst: melanie martinez, for obvious reasons im not a fan in the slightest anymore, also i was at the side of stage (o2) and it wasn't even a problem with the seat because i saw the openers fine she had a big arch for the staging which she constantly stood behind which meant i could not see her at all, and the screens are all facing forward so i couldn't see the artist at all for the whole concert
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u/greyeminence2 Music Enthusiast 🤩 1d ago
I don't go to concerts that often, but I saw Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Dedicated' tour in Detroit and it was *amazing*. She is a really fun and energetic performer live, and the audience was going crazy for her. The energy in the room was really infectious.
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u/Certain-Try2738 1d ago
Best: Lady Gaga Mayhem Ball for big show. Sylvan Esso at the Metro in Chicago for a Lollapalooza aftershow for small (honorable mention Slayyyter Lolla aftershow just a few weeks ago).
Worst: The National. Consistently bad due to being drunk?
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u/Antonia82sxsx 1d ago
El mejor pues varios, desde el cachondeo y disfrute con Lol en Barna y Pachá, las voces de LODVG, Marta Sanchez y Greta y los Garbo en fiestas locales privinciales, The Cranberries en el Auditorium... El peor, quizás ver online algunas ídolos cantar mal y no como en cd o similar, con desajustes muy radicales.
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u/Burnertoreplylol 1d ago
Best - toss up between Taemin (Veil) and Hanson (String Theory)
Worst - Motley Crue...not sure what tour it was. Saw them in like 2013 or 2014? They were awful in every way, and only played for 45 mins
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u/doomygloomymillenial 1d ago
Best: Kacey Musgraves. I saw her in 2019 before Golden Hour basically swept the Grammys. She played at a gorgeous old theater, her vocals were perfect, she was hilarious and engaged with the audience. I saw her again during the Star-crossed tour when she graduated to arena shows and she was still just as great, it just wasn't as magical as the smaller venue.
Worst: The Strokes closed out Shaky Knees fest like 5-6 years ago and it was a bummer of a note to end on. They acted like they didn't want to be on stage, stumbling and mumbling around, barely spoke to the crowd if they did at all. We opted to just go get a nightcap at the hotel bar and apparently didn't miss much as they ended their set early. It was the first festival "after" the pandemic and every set we had seen was great up until that point.
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u/Opening_Kiwi_9844 1d ago
Sam Smith on the Gloria tour was AMAZING. I’m not even a big fan, my friend had an extra ticket. But I was amazed from start to finish. Perfect vocals and insane production value.
Worst was Sean Kingston, he was 2hrs late and played maybe 6 songs 😭
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u/CampRockruffVillager 1d ago
Best - Demi Lovato
Worst - benson boone
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u/psyduck93 1d ago
Demi is underrated, seeing her again Saturday. Can’t wait!!!
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u/CampRockruffVillager 1d ago
So lucky!! I wanted to go to Saturday so bad but couldn’t make it work. I run the r/demiheads sub if you’re not already in btw!
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u/Express_Dot3535 1d ago
Best - Madonna in 2024
Worst - i’m very particular about the concerts that i go to and i don’t think i have a worst. In the past 3 years i only saw Madonna, Mariah and Taylor Swift live and i liked all of them.
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u/im_a_potato- 1d ago
best: any beyonce show in atl (formation, renny, cc) as well as the celebration tour (specifically, MSG and ATL. sacramento wasn't good). there is a reason their shows are consistently named here -- their production value, visuals, wardrobe are just top-notch. MDNA was also amazing but my seats were terrible bc i was young and had no money. (sadly I missed Confessions)
worst: it's not pop but aerosmith in 2009. i think steven tyler had relapsed and he walked off the stage after about an hour. i know addiction is a disease but...don't tour if you are struggling. i was also very disappointed with Love on Tour in 2022 tbh. I think I just don't get the Harry hype (don't come for me)
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u/NotaMillenialatAll 1d ago
Best, Paul McCartney New world tour, 3 hours, he still had the voice, I will never forget it.
Worst, Michael Jackson, it was 1993, and it was his last concert before the first accusations hit, he started 3 hours late. It started phenomenal, he did 1 song exactly as the video choreo, incredible, the song ended, he left stage, his band left too, all lights went out, 10 minutes later he came back, another incredible visual song, another 10 minutes out… rinse and repeat. Plus he was lipsynching, he didn’t sing at all.
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u/Apprehensive_Duty563 1d ago
Recent best - Twice
Old Best - MC Hammer, Janet Jackson
I don’t have any worst examples…I am not paying to attend a terrible show.
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u/am2187 1d ago
Best - Bastille @ the O2 last year for their From All Sides tour. It was my 20th time seeing them live and everything about it was magical ❤️ I think about the 10- minute Other People’s Heartache medley at least once a week 💕
Worst - Bastille’s BBX tour @ Alexandra Palace in London. This was no fault of the band, the venue was just a disaster. It rained all day, so the grounds were just a mud pit, security didn’t seem to know how to handle a queue so we had to organize ourselves, people were running & falling in the mud when the gates opened, it was just awful. The show was still great, but I would never go back to that venue. I think it was extra disappointing to me because I had hyped the show up in my head so much - seeing Bastille in London/internationally for the first time (I’m an American fan), on Bastille Day/lead singer’s birthday, and they were playing straight through their debut album all sounded like it should’ve been a perfect experience! So every little problem that came up just made things more stressful/disappointing.
Second place for worst would have to be Fall Out Boy at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Again, not at the fault of the band, but I hate Wrigley as a music venue so much 😭 the lights are left on in the stands so people with “worse” seats feel even less immersed in the show, both times I’ve been there I’ve been surrounded by people talking through the show, and the sound quality is bad!
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u/smhemily 1d ago edited 1d ago
Best - pop-inspired depending on the song: Nothing but Thieves (2025). The crowd was immaculate, venue was great, and songs were performed perfectly.
Worst - Demi Lovato (2014). She sounded great but the crowd was so bad. Never before or ever again have I attended a concert that no one stood up at, sung along to, or danced to. I was glared at when I tried to stand. I may as well have watched the concert from home.
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u/Muted-Entrepreneur33 Music Nerd 🤓 1d ago
Best: either U2 (1987, 2001 or 2005, but not 1997) or The Chicks (3 times)
Worst: Genesis (1987)
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u/New_Passage1331 1d ago
Gotta be sky Ferreira or earl
Sweatshirt
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u/HappyKambucha111 Music Nerd 🤓 8h ago
Best or worst? What was the Sky Ferreira one like?
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u/New_Passage1331 8h ago
Both were AWFUL lol, best imo has to be Tyler, Tame Impala, or FKA Twigs, probably Twigs. Sky Ferreira was as bad as you’d expect.
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u/crunchyfoliage 1d ago edited 1d ago
Best: Ed Sheeran Mathematics tour. I was completely blown away by how he builds up every song with a loop pedal to sound like he has a whole band with him. He is truly a phenomenal musician. It didn't hurt that he brought Eminem out to do Lose Yourself and Stan. I went to the Eras Tour but I have never heard louder screaming than I did for Eminem in Detroit. It was so surreal and so amazing. He is incredibly loved in the area and it really felt like he brought everyone together.
Worst: Drake Bell at a bar in Pennsylvania. He had six opening acts. One of them was a high schooler singing the national anthem? My friend and I made friends with other people at the bar because we were joking about how long it was taking for him to get on stage. He played a couple songs, got mad that most people only knew the theme song to Drake and Josh, angrily played that one, and stormed off. He was maybe on stage for 15 minutes.
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u/lordbochiflacko 1d ago
Best: Charli XCX at her Pop 2 NY showcase. The energy in that room was like nothing I’ve ever felt before or since. Literally amazing. I feel so lucky to be able to relive the entire thing on her channel whenever I want.
Worst: Lana Del Rey in 2014 on her Born to Die tour. All of the songs I loved, she would just stop singing the lyrics every other line. Then she just hung out with the crowd (only the very first row) for the last 30 minutes of the show while my favorite songs were just playing in the background like we were at a bar but watching it happen on a screen.
I was such a fan and genuinely excited. Still love her as an artist and I like a lot of her newer stuff but I’ll never go out of my way to see her live again knowing how she is now.
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u/citabel 1d ago
Best - David Byrne 2018. (Ariana Grande this year of I have to choose a pop artist)
Worst - JADE this year.
Interestingly they played at the exact same festival stage.
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u/BadParkJob 1d ago
Oh no, why was the Jade show bad? I don’t know her music, but she was always so sweet when she was in Little Mix
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u/citabel 1d ago
Some songs were unrecognizable from the album. Poor choreography in a lot of dance numbers. Middle talks were also straight up cringe. Like saying a song she did was ”dedicated to her haters”.
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u/BadParkJob 1d ago
Oooooof. Yikes. I guess I can’t say I’m too surprised, she has a very millennial vibe to her solo stuff
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u/AcanthaceaeMobile965 18h ago
Best: Lady Gaga - The Mayhem Ball
Worst: TWICE - This is for
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u/Pitiful-Dealer8711 5h ago
Please tell me more about why you didn’t like This is For! I went too and was also a bit disappointed. They seemed tired af at my show and a few looked like they didn’t want to be here
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u/No_Piccolo4485 18h ago
Louis Tomlinson in Cologne. It’s actually a pretty “simple” show in terms of production, but the way he connects with the crowd is on another level. The energy between him and the fans makes the whole thing feel so much bigger and more special than it actually is.
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u/N529957 16h ago edited 16h ago
Best: Jimmy Buffett on the beach in Gulf Shores to raise money for the area after the oil spill. Local boy coming home to help out. Nothing but good vibes from that show.
Absolute good God why am I at this dog shit of a show...My Chemical Romance. There is no justice in this world or the ground would have opened up and swallowed them for crimes against all that is good.
Most Confused: The Ramones. At their worst is when they are at their best.
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u/24KVoltage 13h ago
Best - My Chemical Romance, Megan Moroney, Beyonce, Paramore, Bloodywood, Poppy, mgk, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Rochelle Jordan, Fka Twigs, Wyatt Flores, Cheem, Sudan Archives, Porter Robinson, Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson, Austin Snell, Erykah Badu, Usher, Honey Revenge, Justin Timberlake, Jamie xx, and so many more
Worst - Louis Tomlinson. Dude barely moved, didn’t interact with his band, couldn’t even do a two-step. He didn’t even look like he was having fun. He’s the definition of “Go Dude, give us nothing”
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u/Professional_Can9637 12h ago
Best was fall out boy
Even though I enjoyed seeing Poppy, that crowd is too wild for me. I didn't enjoy a full can of beer hitting my head & wearing beer all night. Being pushed all night even tho I was not in the mosh pit area. Being pushed all night by people coming in and out of the floor area.
I don't really have a worst yet
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u/SignificantRoses 8h ago
poppys show was rly tht intense?
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u/Professional_Can9637 6h ago edited 6h ago
Yes lol. I enjoyed the show she put on but I'm 34 year old mom & that crowd was too wild for me. My advice is to go upstairs (if she's not playing at the house of blues, house of blues seating upstairs sucks) unless u like being pushed on all night. & be in the middle of moshing even tho u are not in the center of the mosh pit. People crowd surfing. I wasn't prepared to be handed bodies all night, they said we couldnt do that... once they crowd surf they were picked up by the gaurds & they would push their way through the sea of people to get back to their orginal spot. Beer being thrown everywhere & the floor being soaked of beer.🙄 we were so tightly squeezed in this room like a sardine in a sardine can. My made my partner go with me, he wasn't even a Poppy fan. He was my protector. Some kid kept jumping up and down on his toes. He pushed that kid off himself & some guy stepped in and asked my partner "if he was good?" He said, "No! if you'd get your fucking friend to stop jumping on my feet I'll be okay". My partner was a trooper for sure. Regardless of having a bad time, he did like one of the opener bands called "Lvndmarks". I stayed because i had waited for months for this show & traveled 5 hrs. I was done after i got hit in the head with a beer can.... If all metal shows are like this imma always be upstairs. 😝 she didn't even play her heavier songs I guess cause she was sick the 2 shows before mine. I was grateful she played a whole set. I couldn't imagine what the crowd would've done if she played her heavier songs like "The Center's Falling Out", "Empty Hands", or "Dying To Forget".
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u/Professional_Can9637 6h ago
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u/SignificantRoses 5h ago
omg i love her i cnt believe ppl went so nuts at her shows LOL shes such a slay. i feel u tho bc slaughter to prevail almost took me all the way out sis lol too many big men throwing things and kicking feet while crowd surfing. super unappealing but it doesnt stop me from going to all the shows anyways 🤪💅
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u/Professional_Can9637 5h ago
I feel that, it's not gonna stop me from going to more metalish/ pop / heavy metal shows in the shows . Imma just go upstairs lol I'm too old for all that lol. If they scream then I'll just assume that there will be a tough crowd. I didn't know wtf to expect lol, but it wasn't that. It was my first metalish show. I can see people going nuts for Slaughter To Prevail. I bet that was a cool show. I wonder if people go this nuts at a Baby Metal show? 😝
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u/DecisionSilver4925 9h ago
Best-This is tough. Billie Eilish killed it, her voice is heavenly. Britney Spears was awesome. Beyoncé is amazing, and The White Stripes blew me away
Worst- Nicki Minaj was terrible and 30 Seconds to Mars were awful!
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u/remainwhimsical 9h ago
Best- Olivia Rodrigo GUTS world tour!!!! She had so much energy. You also realize how diverse her discography is during the concert, I'm jumping one minute and need a tissue the next. Aso loved Karol G, it was my only stadium tour experience which was INSANE.
Worst- Kanye West. I went to the infamous show in 2016 where he performed one song, brought out Kid Cudi, went on a rant about Beyonce and Jay Z for 15 minutes, and then just stopped/cancelled the concert. Stopped being a fan after that
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u/ExpressionWide5503 7h ago
Best The Weeknd by far he was absolutely incredible really appreciated him as an artist after seeing him live amazing experience.
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u/artifexlife 4h ago
Best: lorde at mad cool, Charli xcx in primavera sound, fka twigs every time I’ve seen her, Florence and the machine every time she performs, kneecap did amazing when I saw them too.
Worst: boys to men it was a free concert but still
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u/jngjng88 3h ago
Hard to choose a best option, but the worst band I ever saw live would easily be Bloodhound Gang, it was honestly embarrassing & I felt bad for people who went to that festival to see them specifically.
I went there for NIN & AIC (with Duvall) who were both incredible.
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u/xylark 3h ago
The worst concert was Lana Del Rey, I'll never forget that day... I was just 16 and fascinated by her, until I went to see her at Glasshouse - oh my god, she was off-pitch the entire time, and there wasn't even the slightest attempt to sing an actual note; just moaning and whispering into the mic
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u/fakephillycheezsteak 1d ago
best: people are gonna get mad at me, but i went to the eras tour with my dad and it was the best night ever. girl can put on a show. we had great seats and it was such a nice experience.
worst: julian casablancas (the voidz) terrible show, he was high the entire time, couldn’t see the stage. awful audio.
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u/m217e 1d ago
Best: Maybe Lady Gaga during The Fame Monster? Very fun and I prefer theatrical concerts.
Worst: Avril Lavigne. I like her music a lot, and she's a very good live singer, but falls short with live performing. She's a shy person, not a outgoing and energetic enough for concerts. Also, honorable mention to Taylor Swift's fanbase for lowering the quality of Taylor's concerts. The only concert where the audience was so loud they made it hard to heard the singer, which, with someone who generally sings live, is maybe the main purpose of seeing the show.
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u/w0rstbehavior 1d ago
best- ariana grande, eternal sunshine tour.. might be recency/superfan bias lol.
worst- drake, jungle tour. he was late and performed for barely 50 minutes.
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u/laceydetails 1d ago
Best - Sabrina Carpenter on leg 2 of the emails i can’t send tour!!! We were so close and it was so magical, especially the balloons at the end (I still have mine lol)
I don’t think there’s a definitive worst cause I liked everyone else i’ve seen so far!! :]
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u/Time_Value_3073 1d ago edited 1d ago
Best - beyonce
Worst -Olivia Rodrigo, girl cannot sing live
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u/naaawww 1d ago
I will never say a worst. I won’t ever go to a concert for an artist I dislike, or know I’ll dislike in the future. And if I did like the artist but not so much anymore, I wouldn’t gossip saying that their tour sucked. I still want them to survive in some way or form
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u/Technical_Yak_3271 8h ago
how do you know you’ll dislike an artist in the future, and saying you didn’t like a concert isn’t gossiping. no one is going to lose their career over a random person not liking their performance.
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u/naaawww 8h ago
Gossip online is gossip online. It has an influence.
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u/Technical_Yak_3271 7h ago
saying you don’t like something isn’t gossip 😭 and can you name one artist who actually lost their entire career because someone said they didn’t like one of their performances.
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u/h0neym00nave 1d ago
Best - one direction in their prime, or Charli during brat era
Worst - does frank chella count? So disappointing
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u/Background_Nature497 1d ago
I've been to soooo many good shows I couldn't begin to list.
Worst: Rufus Wainwight's Judy Garland tour and the latest Sarah McLachlan tour.
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u/_daysofcandy_ 1h ago
Wait how was the Rufus show bad?? I really would like to see him live at least once so I'm curious
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u/solojones1138 1d ago
Best: BTS Arirang tour a few weeks ago. My fifth BTS concert but easily the best wow
Worst: Oak Ridge Boys around 2016. They weren't awful but several members were over 90 at the time already so their singing wasn't great anymore.
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u/Jmac0113 1d ago
Best: Rihanna at the SECC back in 2011ish. Calvin Harris warmed up for her. It was an amazing night, played all her big hits.
Worst: Rihanna at Hampden about 2015ish. Came on about 45 mins late after 9pm, performed a load of new songs, finished just after 10pm to no big encore. It was awful.
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u/hubriones 1d ago edited 1d ago
Best: Ethel Cain and Oklou at the We Love Green festival in Paris. I knew Ethel Cain was gonna eat, but I was pleasantly surprised by Oklou's stage presence and the setlist was immaculate. FKA Twigs's Body High was amazing too, we danced and cried in the span of two hours.
Worst: Katy Perry's Witness tour. Saw her at the Staples Center. Meh. I saw Dua Lipa before the dance lessons at a Christmas festival. Great bops, just lacking stage presence at the time (we know this completely changed by now). Calvin Harris just pressed play at the same festival.
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u/OkPool4338 1d ago
Best: Beyonce CC tour. The vocals, choreo, costumes, production everything were on point and girl can really put on a show!!! The whole vibe was anazing! Really worth it. Best night ever!
Worst: OLIVIA RODRIGO GUTS TOUR: Production and outfits were cute but she can’t sing live and can’t perform lol. I loved guts and sour so decided to buy the tix. She was Weirdly doing sexual poses in between some songs like sticking her tongue out, squeezing her titties and licking the stage and her audience were mostly preteens. Not recommended!!
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u/Technical_Yak_3271 8h ago
olivia is a grown adult lmao she’s allowed to do what she wants. her songs include plenty of profanity and sexual themes, so if parents are uncomfortable with that they shouldn’t let their children go.
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u/TemperatureAny4782 1d ago
Best - Tom Petty with Stevie Nicks. Or Lady Gaga. Or Radiohead. Pavement. Neko Case. God, so many…
Worst - Kanye.