Green Day Surprises Fans With Subway Performance After Controversial 'American Idiots' Lyrics Change

Green Day chose to perform an impromptu set inside a subway station on Tuesday, January 16.

To the astonishment of the fans, the legendary rock band visited the 47-50 Rockefeller Center station with Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show to perform a selection of their greatest hits in support of their next album, "Saviors."

As the band jammed to songs including "American Idiot," "Basket Case," "Dilemma," and a rollicking rendition of Bad Company's "Feel Like Making Love," onlookers and tourists encircled them, according to Daily Mail.

Fallon, who was undoubtedly a very important component of the show, banged out each big song that the audience loved with her tambourine playing. The crowd's response to every line of "American Idiot" reverberated throughout the station, like a chorus of protest.

From their first release almost 35 years ago, the band has put out a few standout songs. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong was not prepared for some of the singles' success; some were instant hits, while others exceeded his expectations.

The band's leader recently broke down some of their most well-known songs in an interview with People, saying he never thought some of them would end up on their set list to this day.

Regarding "Basket Case," which was mentioned in Dookie in 1994, Armstrong revealed: "I wasn't so sure about that song - I didn't think it was going to be a single, so when it came out and got so big, I was really surprised. It's become this song that has been in our set for the last 30 years."

When Armstrong wrote the song, he had no idea that he would one day be performing it with Jimmy Fallon on a subway platform! The release of Saviors is scheduled on Friday, January 19. This spring, the Saviors World Tour will begin in Spain and include songs from the new album as well as Dookie and American Idiot! 

They recently changed the lyrics of "American Idiot" to lambast former President Donald Trump.

Green Day members have stated unequivocally that they think there are multiple American idiots. The alt-rock group got a little off course as it performed their 2004 single "American Idiot" on Sunday in Hollywood while taking part in ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2024."

"American Idiot," which was first composed as a critique of the political policies of the previous President George W. Bush administration, was also a protest song against what Green Day perceived to be the orchestrated mass panic produced by the American news media following 9/11.

The song's lyrics were changed from "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda" to "I'm not a part of a MAGA agenda" during the band's most recent live performance, a reference to former President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign.

Like most things concerning Trump, comments about Green Day's lyrical modification on the internet generated a range of responses. Elon Musk, the owner of X, was one prominent figure who criticized the jab, calling the adjustment weak.

Musk stated on Monday in an X post, "Green Day goes from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it."