Artists perform many of their hits thousands upon thousands of times. So how can they forget the lyrics to their own songs? While we might not be able to answer that question, the fact is that many artists do, and some have done it more than just a couple of times throughout their careers. Professional artists are human after all, so they also make mistakes.
Browse through this gallery and discover the famous stars who forgot their own lyrics.
Tim McGraw had quite a show on October 9 2021 at the Nugget Event Center in Reno, Nevada. The country legend was performing 'Just to See You Smile' when he forgot some of the lyrics! A video shared by TMZ shows that some fans started boo-ing him, and though he tried to brush off the criticism at first, something in him snapped. He identified the hecklers and jumped offstage and into the crowd to confront them. It's unclear what was said, but they definitely weren't kind words.
McGraw addressed the confrontation to the crowd and explained that he'd been shooting the 'Yellowstone' prequel, '1883,' for 48 hours straight, so lyrics were a little harder to remember at that point. No word on what happened to the hecklers, but McGraw eventually got back on stage and finished the show.
Noel Gallagher told The Sun that he often forgets the lyrics to his own iconic tracks when performing live. “Brain freeze, I get it. I get them when I’m doing gigs to 70,000 people," he said. “As the next line is coming I think, ‘Seriously, what is the next line to this song?’ You’re thinking, ‘I genuinely don’t know what it is.' Somehow it falls out of the sky. But sometimes I just have to make s—t up." He continued, “My band will say, ‘Are they the right lyrics?’ And I go, ‘I don’t think so’. I’ve played Don’t Look Back In Anger a billion times and sometimes I think, ‘What is the first line?’”
The singer forgot the words to one of her songs during a show in 2008.
Queen Bey also messed up while performing 'Get Me Bodied' in 2013.
The Radiohead front man forgot the lyrics to the band's classic 'Karma Police' during a show in 2012.
The singer forgot her lyrics but that wasn't enough to ruin her performance in 1995.
The King started laughing and couldn't get the words right during a performance of 'Are You Lonesome Tonight?' in 1969.
See also: Artists who canceled their shows due to health problems
Artists who forgot their own lyrics
How does that song go?
MUSIC Singers
Artists perform many of their hits thousands upon thousands of times. So how can they forget the lyrics to their own songs? While we might not be able to answer that question, the fact is that many artists do, and some have done it more than just a couple of times throughout their careers. Professional artists are human after all, so they also make mistakes.
Browse through this gallery and discover the famous stars who forgot their own lyrics.