Grammy winner Ciara sang just two songs and was on stage for less than 10 minutes at her show at Ilam Fields at Canterbury University on Wednesday, leaving fans fuming.
The 29-year-old was scheduled to take to the stage at 9.30pm, but didn't start until just before the noise curfew came into effect at 11pm, Radio New Zealand reported.
Ciara blamed "technical difficulties".
"I am so happy I got to see my fans in New Zealand for the first time! Thank you for rocking with me, despite the technical difficulties," she tweeted.
However, the post was met with a barrage of negative responses on social media. Fans were frustrated with the short-lived show, and the R&B singer didn't help her cause by not turning up to her own VIP meet-and-greet with concert goers, with tickets priced at $125.
Behind the scenes, Ciara's camp and the show's promoters were arguing backstage about the venue change and contracts, New York's Daily News reported yesterday.
Demand in the show was so great that it was moved from the student bar, The Foundry, to Ilam Fields to accommodate the crowd.
Australian touring agency Ginnen Group representative Matty Peilua wrote on the Facebook event page on Thursday to apologise to fans: "The event team wish to apologise for the events which took place last night, although it was outside of our control we are truly sorry.
"Please be assured that we did everything we could from our end to try [to] make the show still go on. We are not going to blame anyone or any one thing, we will simply say that we are as disappointed as everyone else."
He added that meet-and-greet ticketholders would receive a full refund, while they would also negotiate with other ticketholders.
Ciara's performance in Porirua on Thursday night had no hiccups. She performed for around 45 minutes with an eight-song set, and was suitably gushy on social media.
"New Zealand, your love was so sweet tonight! Thank you so much for making me feel at home. Love you," she tweeted.
The amore is unlikely to be enough for an invitation back, though.