ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 13: Ari Lennox performs during "Nostalgia Tour" at State Farm Arena on December 13, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage)
Ari Lennox is speaking out about the not-so-pleasant time she had as the opening act on Rod Wave‘s recent nationwide tour.
As fans may recall, the ‘On It’ singer had joined Wave on his ‘Nostalgia’ tour, which ran from October 19 to December 18.
In a heartfelt and candid Instagram Live session, Lennox revealed that the crowd solely caused her time on the road to be anything but enjoyable.
“You could be singing your a** off, and they don’t give a sh**,” she said, acknowledging the clear disconnect between her and Wave’s fans.
The 32-year-old said that the audience ultimately couldn’t relate to her music because they were there “for voices that will never be like my voice.”
The experience ultimately left her feeling miserable. Lennox recalled things getting so bad that she didn’t even want to continue performing because she felt as if she was singing to the wrong crowd at every show.
The 35-date concert had subsequently become the worst tour Lennox had ever been part of.
But despite the obstacles she faced with the audience, Lennox was still determined to give her best performance — regardless of whether people resonated with her songs or not.
But she soon realized that even after giving the crowd her everything – from the glam to her soul, and her “whole a****le” (her words, not ours), it was never going to be enough.
“Nothing was ever enough,” she continued to tell her fans.
Seeing her industry peers receive a completely different reaction when they hit the stage made things much worse.
When rapper Toosii — who was also an opening act on the tour — would perform, Lennox said the entire building would light up, with fans showing nothing but “love” to the ‘Love Cycle’ rapper.
But as soon as she geared up to sing her first song, it almost seemed like the crowd showed no interest in her.
“I just remember every show racing to get off stage – racing to get through my set. And then I found a spot where I was comfortable, and I started trying to communicate with the audience.
“And then when I realized they were getting angry at me affirming them, I was like, ‘Okay, this is-‘ You’re getting angry that I’m affirming you? This is not my crowd and it will never be. And that’s alright.”
Lennox also shed light on the concert-goer who decided to throw a water bottle at her during a show back in November.
As The Shade Room previously reported, the Washington D.C. native was performing her song, ‘Pressure,’ at the Kia Forum in LA when the object was hurled her way.
Understandably, Lennox was fuming and demanded to know who had thrown the bottle at her. But in her IG Live, she said Wave’s fans’ treatment of her had already prepared her for the incident, so it didn’t surprise her when it happened.
“That side of the stage, like, I felt the energy. I wasn’t surprised that it happened. I felt it. First of all, it was all darkness. That was literally the energy coming from the left side.”
