American singer Akon has long enjoyed a significant fan-following in India thanks to his showstopping partnership with Shah Rukh Khan‘s overly ambitious 2011 Bollywood flick Ra.One. South Asian audiences never stopped grooving to the tunes of “Chammak Challo” and “Criminal.” And so, the country landing multi-city dates on the full-fledged ‘Akon India Tour 2025’ was nothing short of extraordinary.

However, his concerts in the country have so far been marred with controversies or something of the sort. At first disappointing reviews of Akon’s Delhi concert on November 9 flooded social media. This week, the Internet was consumed by now-viral videos of his Bengaluru performances.

Akon Bengaluru concert video goes viral

One such video of Akon’s Bengaluru concert on November 14 has since sparked a heated discussion. The “Right Now” hitmaker is seen performing a song, presumably at the edge of the stage. Wearing an all-white outfit, the singer struggled to maintain his balance during the set as an overwhelming gathering surrounded him.

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At one point, the “Smack That” performer nearly fumbled back and had to quickly hold on to a fan’s hand reaching out to keep himself from falling off. The video is particularly gaining numbers on the Internet as it catches fans at the Bengaluru show supposedly “pulling” down his white pair of pants.

The whole incident has sparked fury online, with many suggesting that Indian fans basically “harassed” the international artist mid-performance.

“This is sad, they were harassing him live on stage. He is an international artist trying to perform for them and they are just harassing him,” someone commented on Instagram.

Did Bengaluru fans really ‘harass’ Akon on stage?

The video currently gaining massive attention on Instagram even flashes the text “Bangalore, Why were y’all pulling Akon’s pants.” However, the concertgoers weren’t outrightly doing what is being claimed.

With Akon standing at the edge, several staffers (dressed in black) responsible for the show operations are seen standing behind the global star. Simultaneously, fans were seen raising their mobile phones to capture the live concert footage.

On the other hand, people working behind the scenes were tightly holding on to the artist’s legs so that the “Chammak Challo” performer could keep his feet firmly planted on the platform. Ultimately, the volunteers’ efforts to keep him from falling off the stage turned into a struggle for Akon to keep his pants from dropping.

His lower piece of clothing was visibly slipping down as others tugged on his legs to help him balance. So, it’s not like Akon was subjected to intentional misconduct.

And yet, the video was enough to elicit strong responses from all around. While some argued that India didn’t deserve concerts of such global stars, others couldn’t help but question if Akon was even singing live. The other side of the fandom was bewildered by the development and claims of fans “pulling” Akon’s pants down.

“Please tell me this is false,” someone wrote on IG. Another added. “What is this bro? This is highly unacceptable.”

Countless others unleashed a seemingly endless trail of laughing emoticons. Someone else questioned, “Lip sync?”

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Watch the much-disputed viral video of Akon’s Bengaluru concert:

Akon India Tour 2025 concerts

The Senegalese-American musician confirmed ahead of the India tour that he would be performing in three cities: New Delhi (Nov 9), Bengaluru (Nov 14) and Mumbai (Nov 16).

Before the controversially viral Bengaluru outing, fans who attended Akon’s Delhi concert at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (JLN) left his Nov 9 show with some bad memories. According to several social media confessions shared after the event, fans severely came down hard on organisers for a poor setup and mismanagement.

“I booked silver tickets at the Akon concert in Delhi happening today and I mean you can’t have trees and the sound system blocking my view?” someone tweeted on November 9. “I’ve attended grub at the same place & that had a better experience for sure.”

Another person wrote at the time, “Just wanted to give a shoutout to @district_india for organising a horrible @Akon concert! Thank you for ruining an experience for the Millennials out there!”

Someone else added, “I paid over Rs 3000 and can`t see the stage because there`s no good spot for me to stand. What a huge waste of my money.”

Akon is set to conclude his final concert in India today at the NESCO Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai.

Ahead of the tour, he bared his heart to Indian fans in a heartfelt confession. “India has always shown me so much love — it’s like a second home. The energy, the culture, the fans… it’s on another level. I’m beyond excited to be back and perform live for y’all. This tour is gonna be something special — let’s make history together!” he said.