There are 20,000 voices in Justin Bieber’s head, and all he wants is for them to stop screaming.

The international pop star reached a breaking point in his noise tolerance Sunday night (October 23) during his show at Manchester Arena in the U.K. For days, he’d been trying to talk to his audiences between songs, bringing up big questions of faith and purpose. For days, all he heard were screams.

The screams would not stop. Justin Bieber, 22, kept trying to have an honest conversation, and tens of thousands of people kept screaming their lungs out at him. He gave up on talking. Last night, he gave up on performing, too.

“The screaming during these breaks has got to stop,” Bieber told the Manchester crowd, who only screamed louder in response. “I don’t think it’s necessary. I want to have a conversation.”

His pleas fell on deaf ears, because the screaming didn’t stop. So Justin Bieber did the only thing he had left to do: He walked offstage, literally dropping the mic on his way out.

That only caused fans to scream even louder and rush the stage chanting his name.

Eventually, when he felt his exuberant fans had been adequately punished, Justin came back out. “I’m not quite sure why you guys came tonight,” he said. “I hope it was to enjoy my company as well as me enjoying your company. I want to connect with you, you know?”

His fans screamed. He gave up. “I’m just not going to talk.”