Singers are emotional people: can you blame them for having an on-stage meltdown every once in a while? Neither can we. Even singers who freaked out during shows provided entertainment, right? Singers who had on-stage meltdowns include everyone from Jim Morrison (the OG ranter) to Fiona Apple (the anti-establishment ranter) to John Mayer (the crying ranter)—and we've got the video evidence to prove it! Click through to watch the epic singer meltdowns that are too good not to share.
At a St. Louis concert in 1991, Axl Rose took out his aggression on a fan. He stopped the song "Rocket Queen" to address a fan taking pictures in the front row, and then stage dove into the audience to get the fan's camera. When security broke up the fight between Rose and the fan, Axl left the building saying, "Thanks to lame-ass security, I'm going home."
Rocker Jim Morrison caused a stir in 1969 when he decided to strip down during a Miami performance. A fan apparently poured champagne on the singer, which prompted him to scream, "Let's get naked!" Which he did. And got arrested for.
In 2012, Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong stopped the show at the iHeartRadio music festival mid-set saying, "Fuck this shit." He then went on to rant about how the band's set was being cut short, which he felt was disrespectful given how long Green Day has been around. He even threw in a few Justin Bieber insults before smashing his guitar! Long live rock 'n roll.
Courtney Love has had her fair share of meltdown moments, but her on-stage rant in Amsterdam in 1995 sticks out. After an audience member screamed, "You killed Kurt!" Courtney went OFF. Love called the fan "a fucking fat goth" and told her to go to a Nine Inch Nails concert next time. The whole rant is worth a listen at 1:36.
During a 1993 concert in Brazil, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain got intimate with the video cameras taping the show. At 5:15 in the video above, he gets up-close-and-personal with a camera, spits into the lens, and even simulates masturbation into it. Pretty disturbing stuff.
While accepting her MTV VMA for Best New Artist in 1997, Fiona Apple didn't go the traditional "thank you" route. Instead, she took the opportunity to tell onlookers that "the world is bullshit." Her rant involved talking about eating disorders, the patriarchy, and wearing underwear in music videos—and did she mention that the world is bullshit?
At a St. Louis concert in 1991, Axl Rose took out his aggression on a fan. He stopped the song "Rocket Queen" to address a fan taking pictures in the front row, and then stage dove into the audience to get the fan's camera. When security broke up the fight between Rose and the fan, Axl left the building saying, "Thanks to lame-ass security, I'm going home."
Rocker Jim Morrison caused a stir in 1969 when he decided to strip down during a Miami performance. A fan apparently poured champagne on the singer, which prompted him to scream, "Let's get naked!" Which he did. And got arrested for.
In 2012, Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong stopped the show at the iHeartRadio music festival mid-set saying, "Fuck this shit." He then went on to rant about how the band's set was being cut short, which he felt was disrespectful given how long Green Day has been around. He even threw in a few Justin Bieber insults before smashing his guitar! Long live rock 'n roll.
