On Friday (Aug. 25), Miguel went viral on social media following his performance at Los Angeles’ Sony Studios. While singing his recent song “Rope,” the musician was seen hanging from the ceiling with hooks inserted into his back.

The gig was part of an interactive experience promoting his forthcoming album, Viscera, slated to debut later this year. Although his LP was the intended focal point, his suspended body garnered the most attention and online chatter.

Unfortunately, not everyone was impressed. “This isn’t the R&B we signed up for,” commented one Instagram user. Another added, “Oh, OK… I’ma just keep listening to Kaleidoscope and mind my business.”

Elsewhere, skeptics questioned whether the stunt was more of a shock factor than authentic expression, particularly given the “Banana Clip” singer’s recent resurgence in popularity. His 2010 hit “Sure Thing” found new life on TikTok. Subsequently, it climbed to No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June.

On Monday (Aug. 28), Miguel took to Instagram to share the aftermath of his extreme endeavor. The images showed red welts on his back and a bloody white tank top. He captioned the post, “What is your relationship to pain? What is your relationship to change?”

“Initially, it was a bit of, ‘What is the most extreme way to push outside of what’s expected?’” the artist said in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times. “How far can I go in demonstrating how far I’m willing to go for art, for conversation? I couldn’t have known how committed I was to the real purpose of this s**t until I had hooks in my back.”

“Rope” came out on May 31 via Miguel’s YouTube channel. In the song, he sang, “I’m hanging onto nothing. I’m hanging from the ceiling. Rope around my neck. I’m hanging onto something. The walls are closing in. This rope around my neck.”