Videos of Nelly’s recent set at Juicy Fest have garnered attention online, after the rapper was caught making bizarre facial expressions during his performance of ‘Over and Over’.
Nelly was one of three headliners alongside Ne-Yo and Ja Rule to perform at the festival’s Melbourne edition last Sunday (January 15). Partway through his rendition of the song, which was released in 2004 features country singer Tim McGraw, Nelly can be seen singing the chorus with an exaggerated smile and rolling his eyes.
Watch fan footage of Nelly’s Juicy Fest set below:
@akira.nibbai My VIP view of Nelly cooked outta his mind at Juicyfest Melbourne, caught in 4K. See my Insta for more footage from the night @akira.nibbai #fyp #juicyfest #juicyfestmelbourne #vip #festival #hiphop #nelly #xo #molly #zaza #stlouis #rap #juicy juicy fest
Snippets of Nelly’s performance were quickly circulated on social media, with some fans questioning whether the rapper “on something [because] his eyes were fighting for their life”. Others suggested that Nelly was “HIGH AS EGGS” and “zooted”. Some users made light of the performance, saying Nelly was simply “feeling this song” and joking that his “eyes rolled back to 2003”.
Nelly was def on something last night coz his eyes were fighting for their life. His crew should have told him to keep his glasses on 😅🧃#juicyfest pic.twitter.com/gTYs3vt0l3
— Chanelle (@imshanz) January 16, 2023
Nelly was HIGH AS EGGS at that festival in Australia lmao every video i see if him performing gets funnier and funnier
— Candice, please. (@spinnellii) January 17, 2023
Nelly performed at Juicy Fest and it looked like he was feeling this song 👀 pic.twitter.com/5d4FOYYLrD
— Music is Life (@ArtOfMusic_) January 18, 2023
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While he is yet to directly address the viral videos, Nelly posted an Instagram story yesterday (January 18), in which he “thank[ed] all of Australia for showing out” for the festival. He continued: “Shit’s been amazing, and I can’t wait to finish out strong”.
Juicy Fest Melbourne marked the penultimate stop for the touring R&B festival, with the final edition to take place tomorrow (January 20) at the Red Hill Auditorium in Perth. Alongside its three headliners, the Juicy Fest line-up also includes fellow international acts Bow Wow, Xzibit, Mya, Pretty Ricky, Twista, Chingy and Lloyd.
Nelly’s latest studio album, ‘Heartland’, arrived in 2021, and featured guest appearances from Blanco Brown, Chris Bandi, City Spud and Darius Rucker of Hootie & The Blowfish. Nelly’s biggest hit, the Neptunes-produced ‘Nellyville’ track ‘Hot In Herre’, turned 20 last year.
Earlier this week, Bow Wow called on his fellow rappers to unionise in order to “protect this thing we call hip-hop”.