Amid a growing trend of singers being hit with objects while performing, one of the more recent on-stage incidents didn’t involve something being tossed on stage, but rather someone falling off stage. Country singer Ernest took a terrifying fall off stage while opening for Morgan Wallen on his One Night at a Time World Tour Thursday in St. Louis.
Video of the incident, which Ernest shared on Instagram, showed the singer interacting with fans during his appearance. Things took a scary turn, however, when Ernest, whose real name is Ernest Keith Smith, went to throw a long-stemmed rose into the crowd. The “Flower Shops” singer put so much momentum into the throw that he lost his balance, causing him to fall off the stage. He almost caught himself on the barricade, but ultimately fell to the ground. Thankfully, Ernest didn’t seem to be harmed in the incident, and the musician immediately popped back up, triumphantly throwing his arms into the air. Ernest simply caption the video, “Athlete,” and did not offer further comment.
Along with the applause and cheers from the crowd, the moment drew plenty of support from Ernest’s 379,000 Instagram followers, including Wallen himself. Commenting on the post, Wallen quipped that Ernest “Stuck the landing.” Meanwhile, fellow country artist Dierks Bentley commented, “so awesome. olympic gold worthy dismount and landing dude,” with Nelly adding, “You almost had it champ.”
The on-stage mishap came not long after Wallen suffered a similar incident earlier this year. During his performance in Louisville, Kentucky in April, the singer stumbled off stage while performing his 2020 collaboration with Diplo, “Heartless.” At the time of the fall, the stage was covered in fog, making it difficult to see where the stage ended. Wallen appeared to be unharmed in the incident and continued the performance.
Wallen is currently on his One Night at a Time Tour. The tour was initially set to conclude on Oct. 7, but after Wallen was forced to postpone several dates due to vocal rest, shows have been pushed into 2024. Ernest and Bailey Zimmerman are serving as direct support, with Hardy and Parker McCollum joining on select dates. Ernest, meanwhile, will also be busy with his own This Fire Tour, which runs Oct. 18 through Nov. 28.
