Maroon 5 China concert was cancelled due to some reasons according to Live Nation's declaration on Thursday. Maroon 5 will no longer held concerts in Shanghai that is set to happen in September. No further explanations were heard from the band's tour organizer.
Maroon 5 China concert cancelled announcement comes weeks after Maroon 5 guitarist Jesse Carmichael attended Dalai Rama's 80th birthday on July 4 in Los Angeles, and posted his attendance on Twitter. The band member shared his enthusiasm on meeting the Tibetan leader on a now-deleted post in Twitter and Instagram.
"Happy Birthday America (and The Dalai Lama too) sang happy birthday to his holiness today with a..." Carmichael's Twitter post follows a link to Instagram where a photo of Dalai Lama was believed to be attached, according to Daily Mail. Both accesses to the guitarist's post were taken down.
Right after the controversial Twitter post, it is very unlikely that Maroon 5 China concert was cancelled. Their visas to China have been withdrawn. It is also very doubtful that their scheduled tours to Shanghai and Beijing vanished on the band's website while their itinerary to other Asian countries including South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines remain.
The band's tour organizer, Live Nation wrote that cancellation happened for 'a reason.' They also mentioned that refunds for those who bought tickets for the impending concert will be settled soon. Fans of the famous American band, who are waiting for them to perform in Shanghai and Beijing have expressed their disappointments on the social media.
Many have speculated that Maroon 5 China concert was cancelled due to Carmichael's tweet about his attendance to the birthday of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
Meanwhile, Time Out Beijing edition reported this week that Maroon 5 has been prevented performing by their political friends in the country. The magazine also claims that the band received "X" to their visas after meeting Dalai Lama.
Maroon 5 is not the first band, who was banned from performing in China. American band Linkin Park, Icelandic singer, Bjork, and British rock band Oasis were not permitted to enter China after expressed their support to Dalai Lama in the previous years, CNN reports. Linkin Park however will finally return in the country next week to perform after six years.
Dalai Lama was forced into exile during an attempt to raise protest against Communist leadership in 1959. Since then, China has been sensitive to anyone supporting Dalai Lama. The Chinese views him as a Tibetan leader trying to separate Tibet from China.
At the height of Maroon 5 China concert cancellation, several social media users, who are presumed to be supported by the Chinese government, expressed their rants over the American band. One was quoted saying anyone supporting the Tibetan separatist deserved to be blacklisted, The Guardian reports.
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