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Nelly Furtado shares injury photo after fall during Coachella Festival performance

‘Maneater’ star took a tumble during her performance during the first weekend of the performing arts festival

Roisin O'Connor
Monday 15 April 2024 12:00 BST
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Nelly Furtado tumbles on stage during Coachella performance

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Nelly Furtado has shared a clip of the injury she sustained after falling onstage during her Coachella performance on Saturday.

The Canadian artist, 45, appeared on the festival’s lineup on 13 April, when she performed a string of her biggest hits including 2006’s “Maneater”.

She was joined by Australian producer Dom Dolla for a rendition of their single “Eat Your Man” when she stumbled and appeared to land heavily on her elbows.

Ever the professional, however, Furtado quickly jumped back up and continued singing: “I say it right, now do what I say.”

She later joked about the incident on Instagram, sharing a video that showed her bloodied finger and adding the caption: “Literally left it all on the stage… including my blood.”

In a second post to her Instagram Stories, she poked fun at herself with footage of her fall, writing: “Eat your man, not the stage.”

Nelly Furtado shows off her bloodied finger
Nelly Furtado shows off her bloodied finger (Instagram/Nelly Furtado)

Coachella kicked off the first of its two weekends on Saturday at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, with performances from headliners Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator, Doja Cat and No Doubt.

Other artists on the bill included rapper Ice Spice – who enjoyed a star turnout including Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – Jon Batiste, Suki Waterhouse, SKepta, Bebe Rexha, Reneé Rapp and Victoria Monét.

There was further drama on Saturday night as Blur frontman Damon Albarn hit out at the famously fashion-forward crowd, who appeared to lack enthusiasm for the British rock band’s set.

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Blur played 13 songs, including “Song 2” and “Girls & Boys”. For the latter, Albarn attempted to engage his audience in a singalong but was met with silence on several attempts.

Eventually, he told the audience: “You’re never seeing us again so you might as well f***ing sing it. Know what I’m saying?”

Damon Albarn of Blur performs at the Coachella Stage during the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Damon Albarn of Blur performs at the Coachella Stage during the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (Getty Images for Coachella)

Blur fans watching from home expressed their outrage on social media and defended Albarn.

“The crowd for Blur at Coachella was so embarrassing Damon I’m so sorry I wasn't there,” one fan tweeted.

“You know who we should book for the 7:30 Saturday slot here at Coachella?” one critic wrote sarcastically on X/Twitter. “Blur. Whose entire discography combined has sold slightly less in the United States than Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water did in its first 7 days on sale.”

However, others questioned whether booking Blur made sense given Coachella’s demographic.

“Blur ‘bombing’ at Coachella is so funny,” another wrote. “Sorry their target audience – 48+ media workers who lost their jobs and have two kids and also a dozen eggs is $9 – didn’t roll out for the $7,200/ticket concert. Does the band still get paid?”

Meanwhile, Grimes was livid after her set was hit by multiple technical difficulties, causing her to scream with frustration after being forced to restart her song “Music 4 Machines” several times.

Coachella festival continues next weekend 19-21 April.

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