HOLDING THE BOILER: Lene Nystrøm and René Dif on stage in Detroit last year, almost 30 years after the big breakthrough. Søren Rasted in the background. Photo: Brandon Nagy/Shutterstock/Shutterstock
Thanks for the fans’ support after the concert in Perth, Australia was interrupted for 50 minutes.
Reporting from Oslo/Sydney on Saturday 23 March at 17:26
The short version
- The Danish band Aqua, with Norwegian Lene Nystrøm, started their Australia tour in Perth.
- The concert was interrupted for 50 minutes after Nystrøm, according to Aqua’s manager, had a panic attack.
- The band thanks the fans for their support and promises that the tour will continue as planned.
- Many support and wish Nystrøm a speedy recovery on social media after the incident.
Sea view
The Danish band with Norwegian Lene Nystrøm (50) as frontman started their Australian tour in Perth this week. The band will play in Adelaide on Saturday before heading to Albany Creek, and the big cities of Melbourne and Sydney.
Radio producer Shelby Brady was at the concert. She tells in the podcast «Pete & Kymba» about what happened.
She says they came on stage at 9pm, and that something happened after the first song, the 2000 hit “Cartoon Heroes”.
– The singer took out and put in the headset, it didn’t look like anything big. Then she leaves the stage and one of the others tries to give the microphone to fans to sing. But she’s not there. It’s strange, and nobody understands what’s going on, says the producer.
Pajamas and tears
Then she says the band reports having sound problems, walks out and says they’ll be back in eight minutes.
– It wasn’t eight minutes. It was an hour, says Brady.
Nystrøm then came back in different clothes – pajama pants and a t-shirt – than the costume she left the stage in, which several people have posted photos of on social media.
Furthermore, Brady says that Nystrøm cried while she was on stage. Nevertheless, the pop star continued to perform for fans.
Aqua manager Anders Nørgaard tells VG that Lene Nystrøm had a panic attack and that the band was away from the stage for approx. 50 minutes.
– She had a panic attack on stage.
– How is she doing now?
– It’s fine.
Tells himself
Update: A few hours after VG published this case, Nystrøm speaks out about the episode himself, on Instagram.
– Thursday night in Perth, I had a panic attack on stage, she writes.
– If you have experienced anxiety, you understand the intense physical and mental struggle it entails.
Furthermore, Nystrøm reports that it was out of the question for her not to finish the opening concert on their first visit to Australia in five years.
She thanks her fans for cheering her back on stage – and her two Aqua colleagues and tour crew.
– My love and gratitude towards you knows no bounds.
IN A BARBIE WORLD: Aqua as they appear in the promotion of their world tour. Photo: promo/Live Nation
Several wish Nystrøm a speedy recovery after the concert at Aquas Instagram.
Photo: Facsimile from instagram
– You were fantastic yesterday. I love that you guys were so real. We are all human and are here to help each other, writes one.
Another reporter:
– Hope you are well today, Lene. You are a fantastic person.
Photo: Facsimile from instagram
In the comments section, several people give their support and say that it was a shame this happened.
– They are human and sometimes that can happen to each and every one of us. So yes, it’s incredibly nice that the fans share their love and support. It’s very good, says the manager.
– Will the tour continue as planned?
– Yes, there will be no cancellations, concludes Nørgaard.
Aqua has enjoyed a solid resurgence after their 1997 monster hit “Barbie Girl” was heavily used in the Nicki Minaj/Ice Spice hit “Barbie World” in 2023 – soundtracked by the blockbuster hit “Barbie.”
Aqua and the two rappers were twice nominated for a Grammy for the song – and for a few minutes were announced as winners of one award, before the Grammys changed this.
The person responsible for the award ceremony told VG afterwards that the wrong tweet went out.
“Barbie Girl” passes half a billion on Spotify in a few days. “Barbie World” has 440 million plays on the streaming service.
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