Katherine Sidnell
Usher has infuriated fans after he played an April Fool’s Day prank mid-way through a performance.
The 44-year-old was appearing at the Dreamville Festival, in North Carolina, when he decided to trick the audience into thinking Beyoncé was joining him on stage.
While most of us wouldn’t be so cavalier about taunting a crowd of thousands, the 'Yeah!' singer seemed pretty pleased with his prank.
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He even shared a clip of the elaborate hoax on Instagram, which shows the Grammy-award-winning musician making the announcement during his April 1 gig.
During his set at the North Carolina festival, the 'Burn' singer gleefully teased the audience while performing in a bright blue outfit.
As the tension built, he told the crowd: “You know, I don’t know if you guys listened to some of the interviews that I did before we decided to do this show, but as promised, I said I would have a special surprise for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen.”
Pausing for effect, he added: “You guys wanna know what that surprise is? Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, put your hands together for the one, the only, Beyoncé.”
Usher even gestured to the nonexistent singer, waving for her to join him, and walking towards the back of the stage before revealing it was all an April Fool's joke with a smile.
Though you can’t fault his commitment to the bit, it’s left some fans bitterly annoyed who’d been eager to see the pair perform together.
The now-viral video has gained over 872,000 views on Instagram, with many fans reacting angrily in the comments.
One even wrote: “This is why I don’t like April Fool’s Day! People play too damn much.”
Others admitted to being convinced by the elaborate joke, with another user adding: “U definitely win April Fool's but that was so wrong, never had so many emotions at one time.”
Whilst some struggled to see the funny side, many of Usher’s 10.8 million followers have defended the musician and even questioned why he didn’t take the joke further.
“I knew it was an April Fool when you said it, but it was a good one,” wrote one fan, as one even revealed that they would have had the band play 'Crazy in Love' before the big reveal.
Though Usher’s prank was pretty harmless, some have argued he owes fans a real performance with Queen B after his shenanigans.
In the comments, one person even argued that he should record an apology track with Beyoncé and wrote: “Now you gotta call her and get in the studio THANK YOU.”
Here’s hoping he makes it up to his fans.