M.I.A. crowd stunt nixes concert set

M.I.A.'s call for audience participation at a British concert went awry over the weekend, forcing the rapper to cut short her set.

The Sri Lankan-born British rapper, whose real name is Mathangi Maya Arulpragasam, was one of the headliners on the bill for the Big Chill Festival in Herefordshire, England, Saturday night.

During her performance of her smash hit Paper Planes, the rapper reportedly sparked a crush by inviting fans to join her onstage.

Hundreds of people then swarmed toward and onto the stage to answer the call. Security cut short her performance soon after.

"A spokesperson for M.I.A. thanked the wonderful audience at the Big Chill for the fantastic reception received and apologized for having to cut the set short due to overwhelming demand for fans to come on stage when only a few were expected," festival organizers said in a short statement on Twitter after the incident.

Some concertgoers complained of the crowd crush.

"People were sprinting from the back of the crowd to get their moment of glory, but the stage was completely full," one woman in attendance told the BBC.

"There was this big rush of people trying to climb on to the stage and [a friend] said it got a bit hairy as he was being crushed against the railings and couldn't breathe at one point."

Organizers said no one was badly hurt.