Siti Nurhaliza vs The Weeknd: when does fandom become ‘worship’?

 The controversy over the Nov 4 and 5 shows at the Bukit Jalil national stadium is a textbook case of ‘context collapse’.

From Jamaluddin Aziz

The announcement that the Islamic development department (Jakim) and central committee for applications for filming and performances by foreign artistes (Puspal) are investigating alleged elements of ritualistic worship at The Weeknd’s recent concerts at the Bukit Jalil national stadium highlights a recurring cultural tension in Malaysia.

As a critical media scholar, I view this controversy not merely as a clash over entertainment guidelines, but as a textbook case of “context collapse””.

Coined by media researcher Danah Boyd and further theorised with Alice Marwick in their seminal 2011 study in New Media & Society (“I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience”), context collapse occurs when digital platforms flatten multiple, distinct audiences into a single space.

When content created for one specific cultural or artistic environment is stripped of its original framing and judged within an entirely different moral or ideological context, modern pop theatrics are easily misread as literal religious devotion.

To understand how context shapes interpretation, one need only compare The Weeknd’s Nov 4 and 5 shows with another massive event held at the exact same stadium just three weeks earlier: Konsert Tradisional Gema Bumantara by Biduanita Negara Siti Nurhaliza.

Both concerts drew tens of thousands of devoted fans who sang every lyric in unison and cheered wildly for their favourite performer.

Yet, the public and institutional reactions to these two sold-out spectacles could not have been more different.

In modern pop culture, intense audience enthusiasm is often loosely referred to as “fan worship”. Historically, words like “fan” (from the Latin fanaticus, meaning temple frenzy) and “icon” (from the Greek eikōn, meaning sacred image) do share etymological roots in ancient religious practice.

Today, however, these terms describe secular cultural admiration. When fans cheer at a stadium, they are participating in collective musical enjoyment, not a spiritual ritual.

Viewing both Bukit Jalil concerts through a critical media lens reveals three key dynamics driving these divergent reactions. First is the mechanics of context collapse. Critics of The Weeknd’s concert pointed to short social media clips showing a towering golden female robot sculpture and dancers in red hooded robes as evidence of pagan or machine-worship rituals.

As Marwick and Boyd’s framework demonstrates, when these visuals are detached from the full two-hour concert narrative and circulated online to audiences unfamiliar with Western pop-art tropes, context collapses.

Stripped of their theatrical framing, a futuristic sculpture by Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama meant to critique the hollowness of fame and materialism is flattened into a literal religious idol.

Second is embedded cultural context. In contrast, Siti’s concert operated within a shared, deeply understood local framework. Utilising classical floral visuals and orchestral staging without human statues, her performance aligned seamlessly with Malaysian cultural and religious norms.

Because audiences and regulators immediately understood the context of Irama Malaysia heritage, the collective euphoria in the stadium was celebrated as patriotic pride rather than scrutinised as spiritual misdirection.

At most, conservative critiques of such local shows rarely go beyond general moral cautions against lagha (worldly distraction or frivolous amusement), a far cry from the theological panic of syirik (idolatry) projected onto The Weeknd’s unfamiliar pop symbolism.

Third is audience literacy and intent. Context collapse assumes that audiences are passive consumers who absorb imagery literally.

In reality, modern concertgoers possess high media literacy. Tens of thousands of Malaysians attended The Weeknd’s show to experience Grammy-winning music and dystopian sci-fi stagecraft.

Treating theatrical props as acts of syirik (idolatry) ignores the crucial distinction between artistic metaphor and religious intent (niat), unfairly questioning the faith and intelligence of ordinary Malaysian fans.

Puspal plays an essential role in ensuring that international performances respect Malaysia’s laws and social harmony.

However, effective regulation in the digital age requires media literacy and a resistance to reactionary interpretations born out of viral, out-of-context video clips.

If Malaysia wishes to remain a premier destination for global live entertainment, bringing vital economic and tourism benefits to Kuala Lumpur, authorities must evaluate performances within their full artistic context.

Distinguishing between pop-culture symbolism and actual religious worship is not just good cultural policy; it is essential for fair and rational governance. - FMT

Jamaluddin Aziz is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT