Regardless of any past and future changes to the world at large, live musical performances will always be unique experiences unto themselves. That goes for both the audience members and the performers themselves, as the globally beloved pop star Pink discovered anew during this weekend's Summer Carnival tour dates in London. For this is where a fan engaged in the rather unpredictable act of tossing a bag of their mother's ashes onto the stage as she was in the middle of a song. One can at least hope this isn't a regular occurrence for the Grammy winner.
As seen in the Twitter post below, Pink was in the midst of performing one of her earliest hits, 2002’s “Just Like a Pill,” when she gave pause to crouch down and pick up the bag thrown onto the stage while questioning its nature. Check out the headscratching moment for yourself:
e um doido que jogou as cinzas da mãe dele de presente pra @Pink ? kkkkkkkkk #BSTHydePark #SummerCarnivalTour pic.twitter.com/UMABzaayXjJune 25, 2023
While I’m sure the fan in question had only the purest and most heartfelt of intentions in making that particular move, it certainly seems like a decision that could have been reconsidered and curbed along the way. Like, did they bring the bag of ashes into the show and just had them in a pocket or backpack while jumping around to the music, only to bring the remains out during a specific point of Pink’s performance?
And again, with all the sympathy in the world going out to that fan, what was the ideal response and follow-up that they’d envisioned? That Pink would learn that the ashes were those of the fan’s mom, and then ad-lib a highly emotional story about her own mom? Or to share the hope that one of her and Corey Hart’s children will one day share their ashes with a favored musical act? I can’t imagine their expectations culminated with this reaction from Pink:
This is your mom? I don’t know how I feel about this.
For what it's worth, Pink settled down a bit after becoming a mother herself, having voiced regrets over her role in past pop star rivalries, and has dismissed fans' latter-day attempts to provoke her. So maybe there were expecations for something in the realm of emotional. Better luck...next time?
Oh, and speaking of Pink's motherhood in and of itself, she shared a post of her daughter taking the stage to perform, as young Willow has been rocking the house each time she gets out there, at least according to social media.
The ashes moment wasn’t by its lonesome in terms of non-traditional concert moments, as high winds apparently delayed attempts for Pink to perform while hanging, though the Twitter user who shared the above vid also posted another clip that revealed she talked her way into being able to swing around while singing. And the fans seemed to love it.
Pink’s London dates weren’t just noteworthy for dusty family remnants being lobbed in her direction. Her semi-rotating lineup of opening acts — Sam Ryder, Gayle, KidCutUp — was bolstered in a huge way thanks to her buddy and fellow former MTV mainstay Gwen Stefani, who also brought her musical skills to the stage. While she won’t be around for any dates outside of the Hyde Park shows (at least as far as we know for now), it looks like the Voice coaching vet had a blast during her weekend stretch, as seen on Instagram.
One has to wonder what's the strangest thing that any of Gwen Stefani's fans threw on stage while she was performing. Or if Pink has any stories about even weirder occasions from her own past concerts. Whatever those cases may be, here's hoping that one fan got their ashes back. Although losing them at a Pink show would at least be a story to share.
