Even singers forget their own lyrics. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most embarrassing moments where singers completely blanked out on the words to their own songs while performing.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most embarrassing moments
00:08where singers completely blanked out on the words to their own songs while performing.
00:19Number 10.
00:20Chris Martin British rock band Coldplay are well known for
00:23their spectacular live performances, filled with elaborate elements that give concert
00:29goers an unforgettable experience.
00:38But it seems sometimes, those dazzling features may come at the expense of remembering their
00:43own lyrics.
00:44In June 2017, while performing a stop in Vienna for their Ahead of Full Dreams tour, frontman
00:50Chris Martin stumbled over the words to Princess of China, their collaboration with Rihanna.
01:03Realizing this mistake, Martin pleaded with fans not to record and upload the moment to
01:08YouTube.
01:09Well, it appears YouTuber Christoph J. Heinzel wasn't listening because here we are discussing
01:18the blunder.
01:19Perhaps Heinzel was too captivated by the elaborate on-stage features to hear Martin's
01:24plea.
01:25Number 9.
01:26Kendrick Lamar When you've put out multiple albums and hundreds
01:29of songs, it can be easy to lose track of which word goes where.
01:38Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar knows this quite well.
01:41During the Top Dog Entertainment holiday concert in December 2016, Lamar joined rapper J-Rock
01:48on stage for a performance of their song Vice City.
01:51As he began his verse, it quickly became clear that he couldn't recall the exact words.
01:57But watching the clip from Real Talk Music Media's YouTube channel, you probably wouldn't
02:01notice.
02:02Being the consummate pro that he is, Lamar quickly whipped up an entirely new verse on
02:11the spot that fit perfectly with the track.
02:14They don't call him Pulitzer Kenny for nothing.
02:20Number 8.
02:21Demi Lovato You couldn't dream up a better illustration
02:24of irony if you tried.
02:26For her July 2009 show in Dallas, Texas, Demi Lovato's setlist included the mid-tempo ballad
02:32Don't Forget.
02:39While performing the track, Lovato did the one thing she was not supposed to do.
02:44She forgot.
02:45This footage from the YouTube channel Selly Welly shows the singer blanking out on the
02:49song's lyrics before pausing, giggling, and then admitting to the crowd, quote, I totally
02:55forgot.
02:56Honesty is the best policy, right?
03:00As it was her hometown, Lovato didn't want to ruin the performance for her fans.
03:04So naturally, she pointed the mic at the audience and let them finish the song for her.
03:14Number 7.
03:17Justin Bieber Singing in a language you're not fluent in
03:21is no easy feat.
03:23So we gave Justin Bieber some credit for his decent performance in the studio version of
03:27Despacito.
03:34But it seems the moment he left that studio, he dropped all of the song's lyrics behind.
03:39During a May 2017 performance at the One Oak Lounge in New York, Bieber didn't just fumble
03:45the words.
03:46He couldn't recall a single one.
03:48Instead, he resorted to a nonsensical verse, ending each line with rhyming words like Dorito
03:54and Burrito.
04:01In the clip provided by filmmaker John Marcucci, you can even hear the crowd cringing at the
04:06disastrous attempt.
04:10Maybe next time, he should do what we all do and read the lyrics off a music app.
04:14Number 6.
04:15Mariah Carey Every performer has botched a lyric or two
04:18throughout their career, and the elusive Chantus is no exception.
04:28Remember Mariah Carey's notorious New Year's Rockin' Eve performance in 2016?
04:36Well, she also had a lyrical slip-up two years earlier on the Today Show.
04:41Carey was there to promote her upcoming album, Me, I Am Mariah, the elusive Chantus, and
04:46serenaded her fans with a performance of the classic hit, Always Be My Baby.
04:54However, halfway through, Carey stumbled over the words and laughed it off with a cheeky
05:01ad-lib.
05:06But if Mariah Carey doesn't care, then why should we?
05:09Number 5.
05:10Adele Adele may be a world-renowned singer and
05:14songwriter, but even she isn't immune to lyrical flubs.
05:22In 2016, while performing her song Million Years Ago at a concert in Lisbon, Portugal,
05:28the Grammy-winning singer messed up the lyrics, mistakenly singing the verse instead of the
05:33chorus.
05:34Upon realizing her blunder, Adele reacted in the most relatable way possible.
05:40She unleashed a stream of curse words.
05:46The fans didn't seem to mind, finding the whole mishap just as amusing as Adele did.
05:51Fortunately, she quickly recovered, hitting the restart button on the song and delivering
05:55it flawlessly this time, much to the audience's delight.
06:01Number 4.
06:02Ariana Grande Memory lapses can ambush singers, whether
06:06they are performing in jam-packed arenas or cozy office-sized studios.
06:17Just ask Ariana Grande.
06:19The pop star appeared at the Red Bull Soundspace at K-Rock in 2013, where she treated fans
06:24to an intimate show.
06:26But one of them, Nicole Valdivieso, posted one golden moment to her YouTube channel.
06:31While belting out the lyrics to Right There, Grande had a literal brain freeze and was
06:36unable to proceed with the song.
06:45At one point, she had to ask the audience for help with the lyrics, which she co-wrote,
06:50by the way.
06:51Even with their prompts, Grande couldn't quite pull it together and ended up laughing
06:55through the rest of the performance.
06:59Number 3.
07:00Drake Canadian rapper Drake has long been hounded
07:03by rumors that he relies on ghostwriters for his music.
07:12Those rumors seemed to gain some traction during his performance at the 2012 edition
07:16of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.
07:19After delivering a solid rendition of Make Me Proud, Drake set the stage for his hit,
07:24The Motto.
07:25But just as the song kicked off, he blanked out on the lyrics and awkwardly filled the
07:29void with a few yeah-yeahs.
07:34You can even hear the audience, including the owner of the YouTube channel, Dondre,
07:39who uploaded the clip, calling him out on the blunder.
07:43Come on, Drake.
07:45How should we take your motto seriously if you can't even remember it?
07:51Number 2.
07:52Tim McGraw In October 2021, Tim McGraw's live show
07:55at the Nugget Event Center in Reno, Nevada, served fans not just music, but some unexpected
08:01drama too.
08:07During a performance of Just to See You Smile, footage obtained by TMZ showed McGraw fumbling
08:12the lyrics, which prompted some disgruntled fans to heckle him.
08:17He initially tried to shrug it off, but then he abruptly stopped the performance, leapt
08:22into the crowd, and confronted the hecklers face-to-face.
08:26McGraw later explained that his memory lapse was due to exhaustion from filming 1883, the
08:32Yellowstone prequel miniseries.
08:34It's unclear what became of the hecklers, but faced with increasing tensions among the
08:39crowd, McGraw returned to the stage and soldiered on with the show.
08:49Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
08:53about our latest videos.
08:55You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
08:59If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
09:05Number 1.
09:06Pink
09:07At a Pink live show, fans fully expect high-energy acrobatics while singing along to their favorite
09:13songs.
09:17But those who attended her Madison Square Garden concert in April 2018 were treated
09:22to a bonus, a hilarious lyrical slip-up.
09:25In this clip, uploaded by the YouTube channel FunFamily6, Pink begins a rendition of Who
09:31Knew but draws a blank on the second verse.
09:38She quickly owned the mistake and managed to recover just in time for the song's explosive
09:44chorus.
09:49Despite the hiccup, Pink later met fans' expectations by delivering a show-stopping
09:55acrobatic number up in the air.
09:57She may have forgotten the lyrics to her song, but so what?
10:00She's still a rock star.
10:03Have you ever attended a concert where the singer forgot their own lyrics?
10:07Tell us how it went in the comments below.
10:12Do you agree with our picks?
10:13Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the
10:17bell to be notified about our latest videos.