Green Day's Armstrong Enters Rehab After iHeartRadio Fest Meltdown
September 24, 2012
Green Day
Clear Channel's second annual iHeartRadio Festival was a success over the weekend in Las Vegas, but the biggest story coming out of the event was Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong. The singer/guitarist for the band had a meltdown near the end of their set, claiming their time was being cut short to make room for rest of the artists. In an explitive-laiden rant, Armstrong flipped out, claiming Green Day was given the wrap-up sign and told they had one minute left in their performance. He then smashed his guitar and left the stage.
However, on Sunday afternoon, Green Day released a statement announcing that Armstrong would be entering treatment for substance abuse. The brief statement added that "We would like everyone to know that our set was not cut short by Clear Channel and to apologize to those we offended at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas. We regretfully must postpone some of our upcoming promotional appearances." The band had been slated for a number of TV appearances this week, as well as a performance for KROQ/Los Angeles. Green Day's new album Uno! arrives in stores tomorrow.
Armstrong was recently hospitalized in Italy for undisclosed reasons, forcing Green Day to cancel a show overseas. He will soon appear on NBC's The Voice as a coach, but MTV News reports his contributions were filmed over the summer.
P!nk
The rest of the iHeartRadio Festival was a success, as Friday night kicked off with No Doubt, who teamed up with P!nk on a surprise collaboration of the band's breakthrough hit "Just A Girl." Rihanna closed out the night, which also featured performances from Lil Wayne, Usher, Bon Jovi and more.
Saturday night featured a surprise appearance from Prince, who played a pair of duets with Mary J. Blige, as well as sets from Taylor Swift, Aerosmith, Linkin Park and Pitbull. Blige and Prince covered "Sweet Thing" by Rufus and Chaka Khan before playing a version of Prince's own "Nothing Compares 2 U." My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way performed alongside EDM star deadmau5, as Way appears on the mouse-headed DJ's new single "Professional Griefers.