08-04-2025
Coldplay Opener Jasleen Royal Recalls Getting Booed During Performance: 'There's a Lot to Process'
Indian singer Jasleen Royal is reflecting on being booed when opening for Coldplay in a mini-documentary titled
Her earpieces seemed to malfunction leading to her not being able to hear herself while onstage
Despite a rocky start, Royal's following performances with Coldplay were successful
Jasleen Royal is reflecting on a difficult moment while on tour with Coldplay.
The Indian singer-songwriter opened up about being booed off the stage at DY Patil Stadium in January as an opener for the British rock band's Music of the Spheres world tour in the mini-documentary Dare to Dream that premiered on YouTube on Sunday, April 6.
"There's a lot of pressure, there's a lot to prove," she says in a voiceover in the film's opening shots.
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Coldplay was headed to India for their first show there in nine years to perform in Mumbai from Jan. 18, 19 and 21. The shows sold out in 13 minutes and Royal was set to become the first Indian artist to open for Chris Martin's band.
One month ahead of her ill-fated performance, Royal, 33, shared that her biggest audience before Coldplay was 30,000 people. The DY Patil Stadium holds over 45,000. "I think the universe was preparing me for this. The universe is giving me what I've asked for, and I need to prepare myself."
Royal also said she didn't want to let anyone down, including her band, team and manager. She was also grateful to Coldplay for the opportunity and for selecting her. "I hope they feel right about that decision," she says.
At one point in a confessional, she reveals that she had been better at emoting her feelings through music and hopes the audience feels the "same intensity, joy and emotion."
Upon appearing onstage for her Jan. 18 show, however, moments into her first song Royal was booed. She also received backlash online for her performance.
"I'm really sorry, but when you put a basic-to-bad singer in front of a large crowd on a large stage, all you're doing is showing more people that the individual can't really sing," Indian singer and composer Vishal Dadlani said in a Reddit post that had gone viral at the time.
"How embarrassing. For the country, the artiste, the public, and the scene." Fans assumed that he was talking about Royal.
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In footage after the first show Royal asked what happened with her earpieces. "What was the problem? Why were my in-ears bursting?"
"For the technical part, we are sorry. The creative part, I leave to you," they responded.
"After a certain point, I can feel it like 'it's time to go home,' " Royal told her support onsite. "There's a lot of pressure. I'll die; I swear I'll die, I'll die. I swear I'll die."
"I'm still processing. There's a lot to process," she said in another confessional. Royal ultimately blamed her malfunctioning in-ear monitors for the poorly received performance. The equipment is crucial for her to hear herself sing, and without them her show suffered.
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Despite this, when asked if she was excited for the second show, she said yes. Her second show opening for Coldplay was successful with fans excited about her performance. Reflecting on the second show, Royal said she knows she's not perfect and keeps trying to better herself.
"But I just want to put on a great show where people have a great experience."
One of her goals in a 2018 email she wrote for a friend included "international collaborations on the level of Coldplay." She wound up doing just that in 2025, collaborating with the band on "WE PRAY."
Royal's onstage incident was overshadowed at the time by Coldplay's comments regarding British colonialism on India. "It is amazing to us that you welcome us even though we are from Great Britain," Martin," 48, said at one show, per Billboard.
"Thank you for forgiving us for all of the bad things that Great Britain has done." Fans had mixed reactions to the viral moment.
Read the original article on People
