The Elle King Performance That Seriously Worried Fans

When it comes to New Year's Eve celebrations on TV, it's hard to compete with CNN's super-boozy "New Year's Eve Live With Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen." The real-life BFFs have given us loads of wild moments, including this year's most viral exchange in which Cooper fell into a long and uncontrollable fit of giggles over John Mayer's visit to a cat cafe in Tokyo, Japan. Even so, other networks have vied to steal viewers, and CBS has become the go-to place for country fans thanks to "New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash." It's always a star-studded event, and Elle King has been playing co-host for several years. She was back on December 31, 2023, alongside "Entertainment Tonight" anchor Rachel Smith as they welcomed a wide array of performers, from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Kane Brown.

King also took to the stage on several occasions and performed a number of tracks, including her hit single, "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)." Unfortunately, art may have imitated life a little too much. While the singer has made no secret of the fact that she loves a good party — after all, her famous parents "party f**kin' hard" too — her erratic performance got viewers talking for all the wrong reasons. But while some made light of the situation, others were left feeling genuinely worried.

Anyone tuning in to watch Elle King perform "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" on New Year's Eve would have quickly been struck by her bizarre facial expressions, erratic mannerisms, and high-pitched voice. To be fair, though, she did offer a sort of warning just as she got up on stage. "I live what I sing, y'all," she admitted. "I have had a drink." But despite the honesty, folks weren't feeling it. "This is bad, cringy, just not good," wrote one critic on X, formerly Twitter. "Elle King is hammered drunk," mused another while yet another asked, "Can anyone make sense of this Elle King performance? She's mumbling and hammered in Nashville."

@briannasileo97

Go home. #elleking #cmt #newyearseve #drunk #nashville

♬ original sound – Brianna

Soon enough, there was an entire Reddit thread dedicated to the topic, asking folks, "Is Elle King absolutely obliterated on the Nashville New Year's Eve special?" While many agreed that she was and criticized the performance, others saw no issue with it. "Why are so many people up in arms about Elle King being drunk, but everyone looks forward to Anderson and Andy being drunk?" argued one supporter. Meanwhile, some fans were left wondering if there was a bigger issue at hand. "I hope she's okay and isn't spiraling," wrote one. Indeed, King has been candid about her struggles with substance abuse and wanting to cut back on her partying, but it seems she didn't take her own advice on when celebrating the new year.

Elle King likes to party. She's never denied it, even telling The San Diego Union-Tribune in 2022, "I really like to drink and sing." However, back in 2018, she told People that her penchant for having a good time took a real toll on her health following her split from husband Andrew Ferguson. The pair had a secret wedding just three weeks after meeting at a bar in 2016, but the union ended in 2017 when Ferguson was arrested for domestic violence, per TMZ. King struggled with depression and PTSD following the breakup and, as she told People, she found solace in drugs and alcohol. "I was partying so hard to numb emotions that I couldn't handle at the time," she said. "I thought that by doing drugs it would buy me time to feeling better." That didn't happen, but her wake-up call didn't come until her best friend forbade her from seeing her godson until she turned things around. "That was a huge moment for me," she recalled.

King began to cut back on her wild antics but told The San Diego Union-Tribune that it was all about moderation. "I don't want to get as drunk as I used to," she mused. However, she was still having a few drinks before getting on stage to take advantage of the liquid courage. "Drinking makes me less nervous about hitting the notes when I sing," she explained. "If I don't make them, it won't sting as much."