LOS ANGELES -- Shania Twain's concert at the Staples Center came to an abrupt stop while she was performing "That Don't Impress Me Much," due to a nearby underground explosion Thursday night. Mashable was at the show during the technical difficulties.
The explosion created a power glitch mid-song, causing the animated leopards on the big screen behind Twain to disappear. The stadium lights also surprisingly turned on, exposing Twain's stunned face and the faces of her confused fans.
Twain left the stage, likely to investigate the glitch, before returning minutes later. When she restarted, her microphone malfunctioned, and she was forced to stop again.
She kept her professional composure. After the mic glitch, she gave a shoutout to a real rocket scientist in the audience and took a photo with him, a fitting gesture because "That Don't Impress Me Much" features these lyrics: "OK, so you're a rocket scientist -- that don't impress me much. So you got the brains, but have you got the touch?"
At Shania Twain concert power went out in start of song! pic.twitter.com/y2jaIydLVb— Sandra Gonzalez (@gonzsndy) August 21, 2015
We had so much fun in LA that we blew the power out! We came back up within minutes and kept rocking @STAPLESCenter! #rockthiscountry— Shania Twain (@ShaniaTwain) August 21, 2015
Twain rallied and launched into the song for a third time without any troubles.
Unknown to the crowd, because the explosion wasn't felt inside Staples Center, firefighters were responding to the blast and subsequent fire at a 19-story non-residential building just a few blocks away at the intersection of West Wilshire Boulevard and Flower Street.
Officials reported that the explosion, which was potentially caused by a generator, injured four people and caused significant damage to the building at 811 Wilshire Blvd.
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Twain, who is on a farewell tour, went on to finish the remainder of the show -- just two more songs, including the fiery encore performance of "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!"
As fans exited Staples Center, they could see news helicopters hovering above the explosion, as news stations rushed to capture images and footage of the cleanup.
Explosion, fire rock downtown Los Angeles high-rise building on Wilshire Blvd. http://t.co/ZlCF9l68Ol pic.twitter.com/Mt5Ji2ld2G— KTLA (@KTLA) August 21, 2015
Power outages "Don't Impress @ShaniaTwain Much" and she definitely rocked Downtown LA tonight! pic.twitter.com/j4TSZT23AO— STAPLES Center (@STAPLESCenter) August 21, 2015
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