Brandy Norwood's concert performance at the Nelson Mandela Sports And Culture Day in South Africa may have been one of the most embarrassing shows in her singing career.
The multi-platinum American R&B singer was supposed to be the surprise grand finale, however, she ended up performing in front of just 40 people in a stadium that holds nearly 90,000 people.
The lack of fans wasn't lost on the 34-year-old entertainer. Brandy walked offstage after singing just two songs at the near-empty FNB stadium in Soweto on Saturday.
"Brandy [just] performed to an empty stadium. With the stadium lights on," tweeted an aghast South African musician, Kabomo. "People didn't know there was a concert after the games. No one knew Brandy was around. Maybe a 40 people audience ... She sulked after two songs and walked off."
According to the Guardian, audience members were not aware that the former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant would be performing at the end of the day-long arts and sports event in Johannesburg. Earlier that day, tens of thousands of people filled the stadium for football and rugby matches, but the audience trickled out during the music segment, which included performances by David Jenkins, Elvis Blue, Salif Keita and D'Banj, leaving almost no one left by the time Brandy hit the stage.
"Brandy performing for the chairs!" wrote one concertgoer. "Brandy is going to perform for herself and Mbaks only," marvelled another, referring to South Africa's minister of sport, Fikile Mbalula. SABC, the country's national TV channel, also ended their broadcast of the concert before the singer came on stage.
Neither Brandy nor the concert promoters have commented on the gig. Despite the disappointing turn out, Brandy is popular in Africa and has performed there before. Her 1998 album "Never Say Never" remains an R&B classic and has sold more than 16 million copies worldwide.
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