NHL Taking Heat For Musical Guest At Winter Classic Tuesday
12/31/2024 07:01 PM
There's been no shortage of absolute whiffs as far as pregame and halftime entertainment goes at sporting events through the years. So the NHL must have screwed up really badly with their musical guest with the way people are buzzing on New Year's Eve.
The NHL's Winter Classic is underway at Wrigley Field as the Chicago Blackhawks host the St. Louis Blues and the musical guest that the NHL managed to secure for the game is the Chicago-based alternative rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins. The two-time Grammy winners, with Billy Corgan as their lead vocalist, tried to play some of their hits but with mixed results as far as the fans were concerned.
Fans have been complaining ever since the band started playing that they sounded terrible, with Corgan in particular getting roasted for how bad his voice sounds to them.
Smashing Pumpkins at the Winter Classic pic.twitter.com/8yHi8XwlVQ
— Eloy (@EloyGarcia84) December 31, 2024
"Holy (expletive) does smashing pumpkins sound absolutely horrendous at the winter classic," one user wrote on X.
"I'm very impressed by how effortless it seems for Smashing Pumpkins to play Tonight, Tonight. However what the (expletive) is Billy Corgan saying," wrote another.
"Smashing Pumpkins is playing "Tonight, Tonight" opening for the NHL Winter Classic and they sound like (expletive). Billy Corgan sounds like his throat was scrubbed with sand paper," a third wrote.
Ouch.
That isn't to say that everybody hated it. You'll find plenty of people online who are praising the show and their performance to the high heavens.
Ultimately, the musical guest choice may just be a matter of preference.
But the second musical guest that the NHL had for the Winter Classic was Chance the Rapper, another polarizing musician who fans quickly made their thoughts known about:
"JFC whoever chose these artists for this Winter Classic should never be involved in chosing them ever again. Smashing Pumpkins and now Chance The Rapper out there stinking up the joint. I can't man..." one wrote.
"Whoever booked Smashing Pumpkins and Chance the Rapper needs to have a sit down. Embarrassing," wrote another.
"nhl bringing in smashing pumpkins and chance the rapper in basically what is 2025 is embarrassing," a third wrote.
Suffice it to say, NHL crowds may not be The Smashing Pumpkins' target audience.
Related: Jack Harlow's Halftime Performance Was Painfully Awkward
