Evgenia Bykova, a Grigory Leps admirer who attended his St. Petersburg show, shared with socialbites.ca that the singer did not engage with the audience and appeared to have a damaged vocal performance. During one track, it seemed his voice dropped, she recalled.
“The voice wasn’t there. He snapped at a woman hoping for a photo and, at one point, slammed a microphone to the floor. He did not mingle with the crowd. Overall, the performance looked unsettled. At first I wondered if age was catching up, but he claimed to be ill and it showed—hoarseness in places. A handkerchief confirmed he was wiping his nose, suggesting a sore throat or ongoing illness. We’d bought seven thousand tickets, and the expected emotional payoff didn’t arrive, which is why people go to concerts in the first place. At the end, he thanked the audience for sticking around after the first song and said he was unwell and wheezing. There was no apology,” she noted.
Bykova added that even after such a show, her overall impression was not ruined.
“I’ve followed him for years, and I still sing along at karaoke. Many songs carry strong memories. He has a powerful voice and a magnetic stage presence, at least from TV and audio clips. A friend who joined me from Novy Urengoy, who was at the September event, described it as a totally different concert for them. Leps interacted with the audience and sounded like himself. That’s why the St. Petersburg concert stood out to them. I didn’t leave with a negative memory of the singer. People can miss a note; he remains a human being. I understand that slip-ups happen, and it’s remarkable that I even witnessed such a major show for the press,” she concluded.
On the eve of Grigory Leps’s 60th birthday, a large concert played out at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, where during a song he paused, nodded, gave a thumbs up to the audience, dropped the microphone, and walked off stage. Afterwards, he admitted feeling unwell during the performance.
Following the Ice Palace show, Leps was involved in a confrontation with a bar patron. The incident also involved a security guard. Industry outlets suggested the clash arose over a game of backgammon. Reports from REN-TV described bruising on the bar patron and suspected nasal injury that required assessment.
These episodes highlight the unpredictability that can accompany live performances and the human side of a star who has long captivated listeners across the country. While audiences may react differently to a show, the performer’s health and interaction with fans remain central to the concert experience. (Source: socialbites.ca)