Clear Channel execs thought Billie Joe Armstrong’s onstage meltdown with his band Green Day at the iHeartRadio concert Saturday night was a “joke” and thought it was great in the spirit of rock n’ roll rebellion. In other words–they weren’t upset at all. Meanwhile, Ellen Degeneres’s producers were informed Saturday night that Billie Joe would be entering rehab and unavailable to perform on her talk show this week. Via Billboard.
Though news broke Sunday that the Green Day frontman was seeking treatment for substance abuse, the producers at the “Ellen Degeneres Show” were notified of the news Saturday night, as the band was set to make its daytime debut on the show this week to promote the release of its album Uno! But His Onstage “Meltdown” Was Largely Staged – As for Armstrong’s abrupt onstage, guitar-smashing finale Friday night, it certainly wasn’t over the band’s set being cut short. “If anybody goes long on a set, we really don’t care,” Clear Channel Entertainment president John Sykes told Billboard an hour before showtime Saturday night. “We thought it was a great move and we were along for the joke.” As for what Armstrong meant by his “We’ll be back” comment before storming off stage, Sykes was unclear. “He walked off the stage and wasn’t saying hello to anybody and went to his dressing room. But all in all, it was the essence of rock n roll and rebellion and smashing his beautiful guitar, like Pete Townshend did and Jimi Hendrix. We just thought it was a great moment for the show.”
Green Day’s new album, Uno, is set to be released on Tuesday. Check out a new music video for “Stay The Night” released today.
In case you were wondering, Billie Joe’s stint as a Voice mentor for Christina Aguilera was filmed in August, so look out for that in a few weeks.
