SZA's Ctrl is one of the year's most surprising success stories thus far, and today (October 10th), she was supposed to give back to her fans who helped catapult her to R&B superstardom this year by performing a free pop-up concert in New York. She even teased the event in an Instagram post, which you can see below.
However, the event is in danger of ending in disappointment for many fans of the songstress after the event was reportedly met with a huge overcrowding issue. Law enforcement were on the scene and may make the tough call not to go through with either performance because of safety concerns.
Fans showed up in droves for the event, lining up for hours just to get a taste of the tracks that made her LP a record that is adored by fans and celeb contemporaries alike. A great many people come through for the show, leaving the neighborhood in a state the likes of which have probably never been seen.
After the number of people grew towards an unmanageable number, SZA took to Twitter to profess nothing but love for all the support she felt today. "AHHH!! YALL MAGICAL AS F**K," she said. "THIS VENUE SMALL AF AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD TRIPPIN BUT I SWEAR TO GOD IMMA GIVE YALL A BIGGER FREE SHOW ASAP!!" In fact, many fans took to singing several of her songs, including "Love Galore" in harmony, giving the crowded atmosphere a communal vibe that definitely looks and sounds, well, magical. As of this writing, she's promised that at least one performance will indeed go ahead as planned.
Fans who lined up were somewhat disgruntled by the fact that the event looked to be in danger of getting shut down, but they continued to express excitement at the prospect of seeing the TDE star in the near future, should the show not go on. As of this writing, the planned 2-show evening has been reduced to just one based on complaints from nearby residents. The capacity of the venue is also being strictly enforced.