M.I.A. Retires

Cult British/Sri Lankan star M.I.A. has announced her retirement - at the age of 30.

After cancelling her European tour last week (beg09Jun08) due to exhaustion, the Galang hitmaker took to the stage at the Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival on Friday (13Jun08) and told fans it was her final show.

Three times during her set at the Tennessee festival, M.I.A. said "This is my last show," adding at one point, "... and I'm glad that I'm spending it with all my hippies!"

Midway through her high-energy set, fans climbed over barriers at the front of the audience to join M.I.A. onstage, where they stayed for much of the rest of her set.

After the devotees were kicked off, M.I.A. closed her gig with hit Paper Planes and ended her performance by stating, "Thanks for coming to my last gig."

M.I.A., real name Mathangi Arulpragasam, has been a cult live act since 2004 when her first releases turned her into a controversial star.

She has put out two critically acclaimed albums, Arular and Kala - which was named Album of 2007 by both Rolling Stone and Blender. M.I.A. has been nominated for two Shortlist Music Prize honours and was on the shortlist for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize in her native Britain.