Elle King's Dolly Parton disaster tops country music's embarrassing on-stage moments
Elle King, Reba McEntire, and Carrie Underwood are just some of the country music stars who have faced embarrassing moments on stage.
Even the most professional artists can have slip-ups on stage.
Elle King recently faced backlash for her admittedly drunken performance during the Grand Ole Opry’s celebration of Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday last week, where she announced on stage she was "f---ing hammered."
The Grand Ole Opry issued an apology on X, saying, "We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance."
In the days after the event, Fox News Digital confirmed King postponed her upcoming performance at Billy Bob’s Texas, a honky tonk in Fort Worth, Texas.
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King isn’t the only star who’s made a mistake on stage or stumbled through an embarrassing performance.
Reba McEntire is one of the reigning queens of country and will sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl Feb. 11.
But even she has had fumbles on stage.
In a recent interview with CMT, McEntire was asked about her most embarrassing moment, and she delivered a memorable story involving "ripped britches."
"I was going to make my way stage right, and blue lights were going to come on. And I was going to walk back on and sing ‘Sweet Dreams’ a cappella. I did not remember this monitor being there on the floor. So, when I was shuffling my way offstage right, I shuffled my toes right underneath that monitor and fell over on top of it.
"I crawled offstage. Ripped my britches, but the show must go on. So, I dusted myself off and put my hand over where I ripped my britches, came back out and did the song.
"Nobody knew the difference."
Carrie Underwood had a wardrobe malfunction during her Las Vegas residency, "Reflection," in September.
"A zipper busted open right before I went onstage," the 40-year-old told People. "Luckily, my dresser added a big bow, and no one knew the difference. Stage magic, people."
She also revealed that during her recent concert with Guns N’ Roses, she had a "memorable fan encounter."
"I got to play some shows with Guns N’ Roses in Canada, and there were fans waiting at the airport," Underwood told the outlet. "I was sure they were waiting for them, but they were there for me."
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Before he was a country star, Darius Rucker was fronting Hootie and the Blowfish.
As he explained to CMT, during those early days, musicians relied on monitors sitting on the stage to hear their own performance, and sometimes their placement could lead to a tumble.
"I’m up on the front of the stage and I’m rocking with the crowd, having a great time," Rucker recalled. "I start walking backwards, and, all of a sudden, I go over the monitor, and my guitar breaks. And I go over and I hit my head. I’m a little embarrassed, but I just stood up and did the double [wave] and just walked off stage.
"It was all over at that point."
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Hillary Scott of Lady A and bandmate Charles Kelley had an unfortunate run-in while performing their signature song, "Need You Now."
"We were playing a rodeo in Texas, it was in San Antonio. … At one point, Charles hits my arm," she told Billboard.
"And the mic hits my teeth, and my lip … and my lip starts bleeding. And, so, he said that I looked like someone who was in a boxing ring, like, the rest of the song, because I had, like, blood on my teeth. And I’m pretty sure it was up on the big screens. So, that was kind of embarrassing."
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Kelsea Ballerini’s most embarrassing moment actually came backstage during an awards show.
She shared on social media that, during the 2020 CMAs, she had a bizarre accident in front of Miranda Lambert.
"People often ask for my most embarrassing story, and I have a new one. while sipping some wine last night after the CMAs, somehow the glass shattered IN MY MOUTH, cutting my lip, all in front of Miranda Lambert," Ballerini posted.
She added to the post, "2020 keeping me humble y’all."
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Artists know their songs front to back, but, like Kane Brown, they can occasionally get a little confused during a performance.
"There was one time I started a song with the second verse and just sang the second verse again for the first verse," Brown told CMT.
"I used to just tell the crowd that I messed up. I would just say stop and restart the whole thing. And then I found out that was bad."
Sometimes it’s not an onstage stumble or wardrobe malfunction that gets a singer, but the crowd just not feeling it.
Mickey Guyton told CMT she was singing her song, "Better Than You Left Me," when the audience started to turn on her.
"I will never forget this. I was on a radio tour, and I went to the Hard Rock Hotel and had to sing a ballad in front of a pool party," she shared.
"I mean it’s a rager, people are partying and drinking and the whole thing, and I will not forget it. I’m sitting there [singing], ‘I’m better than you left me.’ And, like, people are leaving.
"That was the most embarrassing thing, like I did not want to do that show, but I did it."
