When George Michael performed at Sunday’s closing ceremony, it marked his first stage appearance since a near-fatal bout of pneumonia last year
But the triumphant return hit a sour note when he chose to perform a new song, baffling the 26 million viewers who tuned in and prompting accusations that he was using the occasion to plug his latest single, White Light.
Michael launched into the unknown track after performing Freedom ’90, a crowd-pleasing hit. The singer was given the opportunity to sing two songs during the show, whereas a number of other artists were restricted to one.
The decision was considered a mistake in an otherwise impressive ceremony and drew widespread criticism. Steve Anderson, the musical director for Kylie Minogue, Leona Lewis and Westlife, said on Twitter: “Not the time for new single promo — sorry George. He’s undoing all the good … I’m genuinely surprised he was allowed to do this.”
KT Tunstall, the singer, accused Michael of “plugging” the record, while Andrew Collins, the BBC radio presenter, said: “Once again this great nation is united … in agreement that George Michael should never have been allowed to play his new single.”
White Light was released only last week and Michael has been promoting it enthusiastically via social media
George Michael has declared he has no regrets about performing his new single at the London 2012 closing ceremony.
His performance of White Light led some to accuse him of using Sunday night’s event to promote his new material.
“I hope you are not bothered by the press reports of my scandalous ‘promotion’!!!” the former Wham! star told his fans via Twitter on Tuesday.
