Videos show concertgoers at the Saint Pablo Tour raising the unidentified fan but neither the rapper nor music history are strangers to stage invasions
A fan tried climbing on to Kanye Wests floating stage at the rappers Monday night concert in Atlanta, hanging on for just a few seconds before coming back down to Earth.
Videos posted to Twitter show concertgoers at the Saint Pablo Tour raising the unidentified fan clad in jeans, sneakers and a cap high enough to reach the stage by holding his feet and ankles.
James Ross (@OlderThanHunter) September 13, 2016
In case you were wondering what happens when you try to climb up onto the stage at the #SaintPabloTour pic.twitter.com/kMvFFH1Thp
The fan had his arms on the stage surface as West calmly walked towards him and waved his hand as if to say cut it out. From the crowd, a muscular man is seen grabbing the fans ankle and pulling him down.
West had been performing the song Power at the time known for its memorable chorus of No one man should have all that power and ever the performer, seamlessly continued after the fan let go.
Each stop on the well-received Saint Pablo tour has used a stage which hangs from the ceiling and has the rapper float over fans. While this was the first time a fan has attempted to climb aboard, West is no stranger to stage invasions. At his performance last year in Glastonbury, comedian Lee Nelson ran on stage and disrupted the rapper as a prank dedicated to Taylor Swift.
Swift was interrupted by fans during a 2014 concert in London, then again the next year in San Diego. After a fan clung to Adam Levine at a 2015 concert, the Maroon Five singer and The Voice coach said it was super terrifying because he wasnt expecting it. Britney Spears was visibly shaken after a fan came on stage during a performance of Womanizer in Connecticut in 2009. Its happened to Justin Bieber. Lady Gaga was singing the line I dont want to be friends from her song Bad Romance when she was bum-rushed. .
West memorably interrupted Swift on stage at the MTV VMAs in 2009, believing Beyonc should have won the award for best female video instead. Yo Taylor, Im really happy for you and Imma let you finish, but Beyonc had one of the best videos of all time, West said at the time. He similarly interrupted Beck for winning over Beyonc at the 2015 Grammys. In 2006 at the MTV Europe Music Awards, West went on stage after he didnt win best video.
Years later, West and Swifts encounter is still well-known, ranked by the Guardian as the fourth best stage invasion of all time. It follows the musician Jarvis Cocker coming onstage during a Michael Jackson performance at the 1996 Brit awards, a streaker at the 1974 Academy Awards, and a fan who got hit by Keith Richards guitar when he came onstage at a 1981 Rolling Stones concert.
Also on Monday, protesters attempted to interrupt swimmer Ryan Lochte, who was charged with filing a false robbery report after an incident during the 2016 Rio Olympics, after his first performance on the ABC TV show Dancing with the Stars.
After the Kanye West concert, a fan told NBC News that the stage climber didnt seem to be hurt after getting pulled off stage. Everyone just kind of turned and looked at each other like, did that really just happen? said Chase Brown, a 19-year-old attendee. But the show continued and not much was said about it. The overall show was great, Kanye put on a great show.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/13/kanye-west-fan-climb-floating-stage-atlanta-concert