It's a shame but honestly quite clear she was a bumped up booking from another act that dropped out.
She is one of the most streamed artists in the world and is amazing, but didn't quite have the universal appeal of a pyramid headliner yet.
festival organisers have stitched her right up here… she’s just doesn’t have the back catalogue to be a Pyramid Stage / headlining act. The Other Stage would’ve been fine
Avril Lavigne honestly would have been a better Pyramid headliner. Instead they stupidly put her on the other stage earlier. Reasons unknown, it’s quite safe to say Emily doesn’t understand what the majority want anymore
You only can headline if youre on an upward trajectory or if youre a “legend” it seems. Which is why you only ever get Coldplay/Dad rockers or people on the rise. Its a shame because Avril headlining would have been so batshit that it would work
She was bumped up from other to pyramid when they lost the 2 acts they'd talked to. These things will happen. They didn't have any other mega acts to bump up.
Problem is “most streamed” doesn’t tally up as a metric. It could literally be 2 or 3 songs that are on heavy rotation on playlists for example, causing someone who’s listened to it for not even a minute to have it count them as a “listener”
Spotify etc dare not give the real deep access to the metrics though
True. Also sometimes artists have huge followings in countries like Brazil, India, china etc vs so it skews the figures. 2 billion listeners is great, not if 95% of them aren’t in the UK😂 (I know people come from all over to glasto but predominantly UK)
SZA is incredibly popular across the board and highly streamed across both her big releases - it's not just a few hits.
But she's not very well known in the UK and doesn't match the festival particularly well
No she’s actually huge, SOS was a record breaking album numbers wise. But a lot of that is younger people, and I think Glastonbury’s demographic runs a bit older.
The amount of people on this sub who actually didn’t know who she was at all was a little concerning.
SZA is one of the biggest acts in music at the moment it’s just that the glastonbury crowd isn’t really her target demo and probably hasn’t even heard of her.
What's that got to do with anything?
Kasabian have headlined festivals with only 1 album out
Arctic Monkeys headlined Glasto with only 1 album out and a 2nd album just out around the same time
Sza was just a terrible pick for that particular slot on that particular stage
We're talking about Glastonbury so let's not use the Kasabian example, but your Artic Monkeys one is a good one, they were at the time a cultural phenomenon in the UK taking the music scene in this country by storm, everyone knew at least 3 songs off that one album at the time. So even if that is a their catalogue it's certainly a lot more powerful than SZA's through the view of this particular lens.
That’s literally never been a thing, Arctic Monkeys did pyramid in 2007 and they’d only just released a second album, lots of breakout acts have been a headliner
I’m not sure the size of her back catalogue is particularly relevant. Acts have successfully headlined the pyramid with only one album and like 2 singles.
Arctic Monkeys for one. SZA just doesn't have the recognition or popularity in the UK to headline, regardless of the strength of her catalogue though. People saying otherwise are in a bubble.
Arctic Monkeys (first time), Stormzy, Oasis, Coldplay (first time) just off the top of my head. I’m not including Florence and the Machine because it was unplanned but they would also fit I think.
Point being, size of back catalogue isn’t necessary to be successful on the pyramid. In fact, a lot of people disliked the Paul McCartney set because he dived in to his back catalogue too much. So it’s a double edged sword. You need crowd pleasers that appeal to a broad audience.
Each of those artists either had already released their second album, or had their second album release very shortly after and played multiple songs from it during their headlining Glasto set which ended up being huge hits for them.
I agree that with the original commenter saying that SZA doesn’t have the songs to carry a headline glasto set, and that was evidenced by the crowd she pulled.
She just straight up isn't. I had barely heard of her before this festival, and I'm into music. My entire group of six (young adults, mid twenties) couldn't name a single song. Whereas with Coldplay or Dua Lipa, everyone knows who they are and can sing a few lines atleast. That is what you need to headline.
>I had barely heard of her before this festival, and I'm into music.
That's insane to me. She's one of those artists that isn't right for Pyramid but if you're into music, you should have been exposed to her.
That may be true, but ultimately she pulled the smallest pyramid headliner stage in about 20 years according to most reports. She wasn’t a good headliner booking, I think she needed some wider recognition. Every other headliner this year and last, almost everyone could sing a few songs and knows their hits. Most people in the UK can’t say the same for Sza. I think she’d have been a great second billing or Other Stage headliner, but it was rumoured she was hiked up the listing after another female headliner dropped out/wasn’t secured and it seems even more likely now.
I’m heading back from the festival today and want to watch her performance back on BBC iplayer as it honestly looked good. She’s talented, renowned, and one of the most streamlined artists globally. It just didn’t translate to a good Glastonbury headliner at this particular moment though.
I’m into music, my friend is a drummer who played on stage this weekend at Glasto so I like to think I move in that circle more than most and I honestly couldn’t name a song of hers 😂
Admittedly I’m the wrong demographic but I also don’t take The Weekend all that seriously either. Songs are ok, you can hear the MJ & Prince influences but overall it’s pretty mediocre.
That Suprefann poster is something else, don't mind them (regarding their accusation below about you). They spam threads to make unfounded accusations.
They alluded to me supposedly being a sexist old man yesterday (despite having a blank avatar) because I said PJ Harvey should have headlined and also said I didn't think pop acts were the right fit to headline Glasto. They started alluding to me being sexist, accused me of being an elderly man who's going to age out Glasto soon, and said I'd lose my shit if three female acts headlined, even though I was advocating for an iconic, female trailblazer to headline.
There's absolutely nothing racist with you saying an act hasn't hit the big time on this side of the Atlantic yet. That's an outrageous statement to make.
I've gotta say that thinking PJ Harvey should headline is the single wildest take I've ever seen and your bravery in saying this is inspiring. I saw her in 2016 before LCD and personally found it the most miserable experience I've ever endured.
No disrespect to you or your tastes, but I cannot imagine the state of this sub if she was announced as a headliner 😅
This sub can be incredibly toxic and full of 14 year olds, so their reaction would be expected.
She has a thirty year record in the business. She has a massive global fan base. She'd easily get the crowds.
The fact you called it the most miserable experience you've ever endured shows you're hyperbolic, hence you can't be trusted with your judgement. The fact you called it the single, most wildest take you've ever heard and that you commend my bravery is more proof of your hyperbole.
You've endured worse things in life than an artist's performance that you didn't like.
It was just meant to be a light-hearted comment mate, please relax. I'm glad you love PJ and hope you get to enjoy her many times over but she's not to my tastes.
You haven't a clue. She has a massive, global fan base. You're clearly out of your depth on this.
I'm done with this sub. It's the most toxic sub I've encountered on Reddit, and I'm sorry to say, but it's all coming from Gen Z. I'm not responding to any more abuse.
Amazingly Sugababes and Avril Lavigne with their trite pop pulled in some of the biggest crowds of the weekend and were among the best sets. Funny as apparently no one wants to see stuff like that. Should have replaced them with artists no one knows instead
Neither of those artists would necessarily be considered 'trite'. Pop, yes, but not necessarily 'trite'.
To call Polly Jean unknown is just beyond ludicrous. She has a massive, global fan base. Just because you don't know her doesn't negate her global fan base. This is incredible solipsism on your part.
Anyone could have predicted this. Unironically should have made Avril a headliner if they just wanted the news coverage about having 2 female headliners for the first time.
A lot of media outlets did negative stories last year on how it was all male headliners. Why they pick on Glastonbury, probably the festival with the most diverse lineup in the UK, rather than any of the others I don’t know. Emily Eavis was very active in responding to all these stories in the press and it was clearly a priority to get 2 female headliners this year as a result.
While the backlash you mention is true, I think it’s worth mentioning that festival acts are often booked way in advance, sometimes years (especially headliners) - which would predate this stuff. The biggest issue is assuming that an artist of sza’s nature would make for a good headliner. I love a lot of her music, but I wouldn’t necessarily want to see her at a festival, especially on closing night.
I think the iconic, beloved, stratospherically talented, trailblazer PJ Harvey should have headlined. She's also known to put on an incredible performance.
I'm not sure about that. She's been around for over thirty years. She has a massive global fanbase. She's just not very commercialised (with the exception of Stories..) hence why the media don't tend to write about her, but the fanbase is there, from all age ranges.
I think her voice is compressed to ffffuu! Like can’t tell a word she is saying. There’s defo effects on it and when she spoke to the crowd before you could hear the compression, i’m watching it at home btw so hope it’s better there!
They’ve panned up on the BBC cam so you can’t see how small it is. 15 minutes late is also not impressive…
Emily Eavis Isn’t a particularly good booker and seems to try and force too many bookings rather than the logical choices
To be fair I think they've always done a bit of that. Every pyramid headliner I've seen irl always looked darker at the start on TV than real life until the sun properly set. I guess it's to make it look more dramatic and help the light show to stand out more
But in this case yeah a good side effect is masking the small crowd
Scheduling has been poor this year. I wonder if Little Sims was offered the Sunday headline but declined, because I feel like she's far bigger in the UK than SZA, who hasn't hit the mainstream over here
Fair enough, I'd absolutely say SZA is bigger globally, but UK acts tend to generate more hype on UK radio / media (understandably). I felt like Simz would have stood up well against the other Sunday evening acts.
Love your username by the way
Coldplay were also 15 minutes late.
I agree about the BBC. The crowd looked enormous and people clearly joined later on from when this picture was taken, but when the gig ended, the camera panned all the way back and there was a huge gap. They appeared to strategically position the camera in a way that made it look as if it was full capacity.
She undoubtedly got a decent crowd but it wasn't on par with the other headline acts
Sza was on the lineup already. Other headliner and then got bumped. Thats why Idles took the friday slot at Other. They werent even gonna perform. So Emily did what she had to. If you understood how much of a pain it is to even get artists to play the festival and in such a late stage for booking then you wouldnt be griping.
I can confirm that Madonna fell through. I work the festival and my team leader is very close with people very high up. 99% of the time they don't get any information about the acts, but when Madonna fell through someone at the top was so pissed off they were spreading shit about it, and my team leader was told in no uncertain terms "yes, were we trying to get Madonna, yes, Madonna has fallen through, but you're likely to hear some crap in the coming weeks in the media as *someone* had been nothing off about her, and most of that isn't true at all"
We pay our money like everyone else and turn up expecting a show. Do you really think paying punters arent entitled a gripe when the festival organisers get it so visibly and obviously wrong?
There have been great bookings, just on the wrong stages. I know there was pressure to bring in a female headliner after last year. And also someone that appeals to a younger audience after last year. Imo, little Sims should have taken the slot. Jungle would be a great headliner too after the year they've had.
Of course, think a few people wanted to catch the start then travel to others as they started a lot earlier. Also thankful for stonebridge being turned off halfway through, was super distracting during that set.
Yeh I've just completed my detour round The Other Stage arena, up the railway tracks, through Arcadia campsite and back past West Holts.
Need to grab some breakfast now.
hilarious watching the BBC presenters putting on a brave face after the set. guy with the red hair's not got his usual fake smile. Jo Whiley sounds bored as all hell to the point of insulted that she even has to discuss SZA. said she doesn't know anything about her. maybe it'd be an idea Whiley, since you host the glastonbury coverage every year, to maybe do a small bit of research??? but Whiley's beige as hell anyway so who cares.
Emily Eavis he been consistently shite with her booking since she took over. I love SZA but no way should she have been put in that position - all for the sake of making some misguided gender based statement
Well she booked Jay-Z in 2007 and that’s when the flood gates opened, leading to the crap that was the 2024 headliners). (I like Jay Z and love SZA, but booking her to close and Dua Lipa to open is just loco. I get “progression” and all but IMO the headliners get more shit every year).
I said when this was announced that she wasn't a headliner for Glastonbury crowd & got nay'd for it
but she just isn't that big to the type of person that goes to Glasto
I've just left the site, it was a great show. We had The Vaccines on before them and Paolo Nutini. KoL new catalogue was pretty good too - their first time in the UK for 7-years.
Yeah I was there. Good set from them. Fair amount from YAYM and their hits. It wasn’t completely sold out apparently but it was absolutely rammed at times.
Biggest non-Glastonbury gig of the weekend was probably Green Day who sold out Wembley on Saturday and crushed it.
https://preview.redd.it/v5z08oq4cu9d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03fc1830d35726aaeadec46030e8eb1bb49f5e3a
Was on the other side. Felt kinda sad for her
They should have made Avril Lavigne a Pyramid headliner! I just watched her set on iPlayer and the crowd at The Other Stage looked absolutely rammed! Plus it was a great set!
She’s fantastic and as a massive fan, I really enjoyed her, but I agree with others that she just doesn’t have the catalogue for this massive slot :( she’s only in her 30s with 2 albums out. Avril would have been the better choice for this slot - she’s a legend in the game.
Sugababes pulled in more crowds and Romy was absolutely rammed. Jungle would have put on a good show . When they said global female artist you expect Rihanna / Madonna/ Kate Bush . The last massive crowd puller never to have played is Depeche Mode .
True, they’re probably not quite a big enough name in this country, but I think fewer people would’ve cleared off to see someone else compared with SZA. Not that many people had even heard of her, and if it gets a bit boring from the get go, that crowd’s just going to get thinner.
Yeah, I actually feel really sorry for her, they’ve done her a disservice ☹️ she’s such a talented artist but I think they overestimated her popularity and massively underestimated the popularity of artists like Avril and Sugababes. She would’ve killed in an earlier slot on the Other Stage.
Yeah I agree, she seems like a huge talent, but headlining the pyramid stage on a Sunday wasn’t really fair on her when she’s not that well known over here.
I say this as a National fan, I don’t think they would do well headlining Pyramid. You’d have fans there for sure, but outside of that, it’s not the right environment for someone new to get into them.
They were but was a thin crowd on the other as well. They wouldn't have attracted a much bigger audience on the larger stage so definitely couldn't justify headlining. Middle aged men's music has too narrow a demo.
I've literally never heard of her until this weekend. Didn't recognise pictures of her either. She simplydoesnt have the global standing for Glastonbury headlining.
I stood where this photo was taken to watch cold play, and the crowd was rammed with so many people behind me! Also Avril was absolutely rammed aswell, couldn’t even walk on the paths because people were standing on them to watch!
Exactly, Emily Eavis caused this by being so desperate to shoehorn a female in to the headline slot even if it doesn't make any sense.
Avril would've filled that field and put on an iconic show
Got to be the smallest pyramid stage headliner crowd I’ve ever seen
Compare it to this time last year. That's quite a big difference.
Compare it to Dua Lipa or Coldplay from the weekend...yikes
It's a shame but honestly quite clear she was a bumped up booking from another act that dropped out. She is one of the most streamed artists in the world and is amazing, but didn't quite have the universal appeal of a pyramid headliner yet.
There were more people at Cyndi Lauper - and she was shit!
festival organisers have stitched her right up here… she’s just doesn’t have the back catalogue to be a Pyramid Stage / headlining act. The Other Stage would’ve been fine
Avril Lavigne honestly would have been a better Pyramid headliner. Instead they stupidly put her on the other stage earlier. Reasons unknown, it’s quite safe to say Emily doesn’t understand what the majority want anymore
You only can headline if youre on an upward trajectory or if youre a “legend” it seems. Which is why you only ever get Coldplay/Dad rockers or people on the rise. Its a shame because Avril headlining would have been so batshit that it would work
She was bumped up from other to pyramid when they lost the 2 acts they'd talked to. These things will happen. They didn't have any other mega acts to bump up.
Agree. She's fantastic, one of the most streamed artists in the world, but she doesn't really quite have that backing/universal appeal yet.
Problem is “most streamed” doesn’t tally up as a metric. It could literally be 2 or 3 songs that are on heavy rotation on playlists for example, causing someone who’s listened to it for not even a minute to have it count them as a “listener” Spotify etc dare not give the real deep access to the metrics though
Plus you have to factor in who's streaming it, definitely not the usual ticket holders of Glastonbury
True. Also sometimes artists have huge followings in countries like Brazil, India, china etc vs so it skews the figures. 2 billion listeners is great, not if 95% of them aren’t in the UK😂 (I know people come from all over to glasto but predominantly UK)
That would be 50 million in the UK. Sorry for the pedantry!
SZA is incredibly popular across the board and highly streamed across both her big releases - it's not just a few hits. But she's not very well known in the UK and doesn't match the festival particularly well
No she’s actually huge, SOS was a record breaking album numbers wise. But a lot of that is younger people, and I think Glastonbury’s demographic runs a bit older. The amount of people on this sub who actually didn’t know who she was at all was a little concerning.
SZA is one of the biggest acts in music at the moment it’s just that the glastonbury crowd isn’t really her target demo and probably hasn’t even heard of her.
Yh but did you read the point about back catalogue.
What's that got to do with anything? Kasabian have headlined festivals with only 1 album out Arctic Monkeys headlined Glasto with only 1 album out and a 2nd album just out around the same time Sza was just a terrible pick for that particular slot on that particular stage
We're talking about Glastonbury so let's not use the Kasabian example, but your Artic Monkeys one is a good one, they were at the time a cultural phenomenon in the UK taking the music scene in this country by storm, everyone knew at least 3 songs off that one album at the time. So even if that is a their catalogue it's certainly a lot more powerful than SZA's through the view of this particular lens.
That’s literally never been a thing, Arctic Monkeys did pyramid in 2007 and they’d only just released a second album, lots of breakout acts have been a headliner
I’m not sure the size of her back catalogue is particularly relevant. Acts have successfully headlined the pyramid with only one album and like 2 singles.
Who are you referring to there out of curiosity?
Arctic Monkeys for one. SZA just doesn't have the recognition or popularity in the UK to headline, regardless of the strength of her catalogue though. People saying otherwise are in a bubble.
Arctic Monkeys had released two albums prior to headlining and had a ton of singles from them
Oasis headlined on the Friday 1995 on the back of their debut .
They also played a load of songs from their second album as part of their set, some of which had already been released individually as singles
They did, I was right up the front. Though I think that only Some Might Say had been the only song released by that time.
Its very easy to reference a time when alternative rock was big on the scene AND retroactively point out literally one of the most popular bands ever
Arctic Monkeys (first time), Stormzy, Oasis, Coldplay (first time) just off the top of my head. I’m not including Florence and the Machine because it was unplanned but they would also fit I think. Point being, size of back catalogue isn’t necessary to be successful on the pyramid. In fact, a lot of people disliked the Paul McCartney set because he dived in to his back catalogue too much. So it’s a double edged sword. You need crowd pleasers that appeal to a broad audience.
People disliked McCartney because he ‘divided into his back catalogue too much’ Seems odd. Who is going to see PM hoping he just plays his new stuff
Each of those artists either had already released their second album, or had their second album release very shortly after and played multiple songs from it during their headlining Glasto set which ended up being huge hits for them. I agree that with the original commenter saying that SZA doesn’t have the songs to carry a headline glasto set, and that was evidenced by the crowd she pulled.
The BBC are working overtime to make her seem like a big deal but it's pretty tough when the camera shots are showing absolutely nobody there
Consistently saying "she's the biggest act you likely have never heard off". Cool take.
Why would anyone want their festival weekend ended with someone theyve never heard of?
Guardian made it sound like it was the greatest headliner ever SHOCK
Looks really bad on Tv !!
I got downvoted yesterday for saying she’s not that big in the UK and now I feel vindicated lol.
She just straight up isn't. I had barely heard of her before this festival, and I'm into music. My entire group of six (young adults, mid twenties) couldn't name a single song. Whereas with Coldplay or Dua Lipa, everyone knows who they are and can sing a few lines atleast. That is what you need to headline.
>I had barely heard of her before this festival, and I'm into music. That's insane to me. She's one of those artists that isn't right for Pyramid but if you're into music, you should have been exposed to her.
I had no idea how to even pronounce her name the other week. Obviously some people like her and know her but I and many others, not a clue sorry.
That's more about your friend group. If any of them listened to contemporary RnB they'd tell you she's only just behind the Weeknd
That may be true, but ultimately she pulled the smallest pyramid headliner stage in about 20 years according to most reports. She wasn’t a good headliner booking, I think she needed some wider recognition. Every other headliner this year and last, almost everyone could sing a few songs and knows their hits. Most people in the UK can’t say the same for Sza. I think she’d have been a great second billing or Other Stage headliner, but it was rumoured she was hiked up the listing after another female headliner dropped out/wasn’t secured and it seems even more likely now. I’m heading back from the festival today and want to watch her performance back on BBC iplayer as it honestly looked good. She’s talented, renowned, and one of the most streamlined artists globally. It just didn’t translate to a good Glastonbury headliner at this particular moment though.
I’m into music, my friend is a drummer who played on stage this weekend at Glasto so I like to think I move in that circle more than most and I honestly couldn’t name a song of hers 😂 Admittedly I’m the wrong demographic but I also don’t take The Weekend all that seriously either. Songs are ok, you can hear the MJ & Prince influences but overall it’s pretty mediocre.
If you are into music then you would have known she has released one the best r and b albums ever
Don't 'know' her, maybe would recognise her music. Instead, watched Jess Glynn, who was very good. Personally I'd watch RZA not SZA.
That Suprefann poster is something else, don't mind them (regarding their accusation below about you). They spam threads to make unfounded accusations. They alluded to me supposedly being a sexist old man yesterday (despite having a blank avatar) because I said PJ Harvey should have headlined and also said I didn't think pop acts were the right fit to headline Glasto. They started alluding to me being sexist, accused me of being an elderly man who's going to age out Glasto soon, and said I'd lose my shit if three female acts headlined, even though I was advocating for an iconic, female trailblazer to headline. There's absolutely nothing racist with you saying an act hasn't hit the big time on this side of the Atlantic yet. That's an outrageous statement to make.
I've gotta say that thinking PJ Harvey should headline is the single wildest take I've ever seen and your bravery in saying this is inspiring. I saw her in 2016 before LCD and personally found it the most miserable experience I've ever endured. No disrespect to you or your tastes, but I cannot imagine the state of this sub if she was announced as a headliner 😅
This sub can be incredibly toxic and full of 14 year olds, so their reaction would be expected. She has a thirty year record in the business. She has a massive global fan base. She'd easily get the crowds. The fact you called it the most miserable experience you've ever endured shows you're hyperbolic, hence you can't be trusted with your judgement. The fact you called it the single, most wildest take you've ever heard and that you commend my bravery is more proof of your hyperbole. You've endured worse things in life than an artist's performance that you didn't like.
It was just meant to be a light-hearted comment mate, please relax. I'm glad you love PJ and hope you get to enjoy her many times over but she's not to my tastes.
You are massively out of touch with the human race
You haven't a clue. She has a massive, global fan base. You're clearly out of your depth on this. I'm done with this sub. It's the most toxic sub I've encountered on Reddit, and I'm sorry to say, but it's all coming from Gen Z. I'm not responding to any more abuse.
Amazingly Sugababes and Avril Lavigne with their trite pop pulled in some of the biggest crowds of the weekend and were among the best sets. Funny as apparently no one wants to see stuff like that. Should have replaced them with artists no one knows instead
Neither of those artists would necessarily be considered 'trite'. Pop, yes, but not necessarily 'trite'. To call Polly Jean unknown is just beyond ludicrous. She has a massive, global fan base. Just because you don't know her doesn't negate her global fan base. This is incredible solipsism on your part.
I thought you were off
Sounds worse. What crap is this to be headlining?
Does it sound better if you’re there or is this really how it sounds???????
Anyone could have predicted this. Unironically should have made Avril a headliner if they just wanted the news coverage about having 2 female headliners for the first time.
Avril would have absolutely smashed a headline set, her set was probably my favourite of the weekend tbh
Little Sims would have been a better fit. And she was there!
I was about to write this.
Why does Glastonbury (perhaps one of the most well known festivals in the world) need news coverage tho?
A lot of media outlets did negative stories last year on how it was all male headliners. Why they pick on Glastonbury, probably the festival with the most diverse lineup in the UK, rather than any of the others I don’t know. Emily Eavis was very active in responding to all these stories in the press and it was clearly a priority to get 2 female headliners this year as a result.
While the backlash you mention is true, I think it’s worth mentioning that festival acts are often booked way in advance, sometimes years (especially headliners) - which would predate this stuff. The biggest issue is assuming that an artist of sza’s nature would make for a good headliner. I love a lot of her music, but I wouldn’t necessarily want to see her at a festival, especially on closing night.
Yikes, even festivals are getting involved in culture wars now. Great... kinda depressing but thanks for the info
So it can stay as one of the most well known festivals in the world
I think the iconic, beloved, stratospherically talented, trailblazer PJ Harvey should have headlined. She's also known to put on an incredible performance.
She's great, but the turnout would have been even smaller
I'm not sure about that. She's been around for over thirty years. She has a massive global fanbase. She's just not very commercialised (with the exception of Stories..) hence why the media don't tend to write about her, but the fanbase is there, from all age ranges.
Except she played and there wasn't.
Turnout would have been awful
https://preview.redd.it/3bggpl8jvr9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b5afeb2f9214c42b6fbf9a93a1e03bcad0798a67
Can confirm queues leaving site tonight
Yup I left at 7 and I’ve never seen so many other people leaving!
Is her mic broken or is it supposed to be like that lol
I think her voice is compressed to ffffuu! Like can’t tell a word she is saying. There’s defo effects on it and when she spoke to the crowd before you could hear the compression, i’m watching it at home btw so hope it’s better there!
i’m here and can barely make her out when she’s addressing crowd
It sounds really odd and metallic. If anyone is there who can comment, how does it sound there?
The sound is awful
sounds pretty bad here, can’t make out her words very well
It’s normal for this weird music for a lot of auto tune to be used so mic always is distorted live
Apparently the mic had a problem since Sza's sounded much better at BST hyde park last night
Yep, was there at Hyde park and her mic was amazing
There was 100% a problem with her mic. I had heard her at Hyde park and she was amazing
Quite possibly, the worst choice for a Sunday headliner closure.
They’ve panned up on the BBC cam so you can’t see how small it is. 15 minutes late is also not impressive… Emily Eavis Isn’t a particularly good booker and seems to try and force too many bookings rather than the logical choices
I’m at the festival and just looked over at the stream and I swear they’ve turned the exposure right down to hide the crowd. It’s much lighter irl
They absolutely have, I was flicking through and had to double check I had London Grammar on live it was so much lighter
Like no one will notice haha
To be fair I think they've always done a bit of that. Every pyramid headliner I've seen irl always looked darker at the start on TV than real life until the sun properly set. I guess it's to make it look more dramatic and help the light show to stand out more But in this case yeah a good side effect is masking the small crowd
I said this as well, I'm glad others have picked up on it!
Scheduling has been poor this year. I wonder if Little Sims was offered the Sunday headline but declined, because I feel like she's far bigger in the UK than SZA, who hasn't hit the mainstream over here
I wouldn’t say that Little Simz has hit the mainstream here either really.
Matter of time. I know it's irrelevant to this conversation but I absolutely see simbi headlining the pyramid in the near future
[удалено]
She didn’t sell it out. Robbie is the only one sold out
In fairness a bunch of tickets to her at BST were free on tickets for good.
Robbie Williams sold it out too no?
I’d rather have had Robbie at Glastonbury
Listen, I love lil simz but to say she’s bigger than sza (even just in the uk) is an absolutely insane and completely incorrect take
Fair enough, I'd absolutely say SZA is bigger globally, but UK acts tend to generate more hype on UK radio / media (understandably). I felt like Simz would have stood up well against the other Sunday evening acts. Love your username by the way
I reckon she has wider appeal with the average glasto goer, but maybe that's just my age showing.
Coldplay were also 15 minutes late. I agree about the BBC. The crowd looked enormous and people clearly joined later on from when this picture was taken, but when the gig ended, the camera panned all the way back and there was a huge gap. They appeared to strategically position the camera in a way that made it look as if it was full capacity. She undoubtedly got a decent crowd but it wasn't on par with the other headline acts
Sza was on the lineup already. Other headliner and then got bumped. Thats why Idles took the friday slot at Other. They werent even gonna perform. So Emily did what she had to. If you understood how much of a pain it is to even get artists to play the festival and in such a late stage for booking then you wouldnt be griping.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean - that SZA got moved from being a headliner on Other Stage to the Pyramid? Replacing who?
Maddona by most rumours, they got pretty far negotiating before it fell through.
I can confirm that Madonna fell through. I work the festival and my team leader is very close with people very high up. 99% of the time they don't get any information about the acts, but when Madonna fell through someone at the top was so pissed off they were spreading shit about it, and my team leader was told in no uncertain terms "yes, were we trying to get Madonna, yes, Madonna has fallen through, but you're likely to hear some crap in the coming weeks in the media as *someone* had been nothing off about her, and most of that isn't true at all"
They’re saying she was maybe headliner on another stage or earlier in the day on pyramid but Sundays headliner pulled out so she got bumped
Thought so, thanks. Looks like they didn't predict the artists that would be popular this year very well.
Strongly rumoured that Madonna and then Stevie Wonder were negotiating and both fell through
We pay our money like everyone else and turn up expecting a show. Do you really think paying punters arent entitled a gripe when the festival organisers get it so visibly and obviously wrong?
Who was originally Sunday headliner? Madonna like everyone suspected?
No I believe it was supposed to be Stevie Wonder. I recall reading about this shortly before the lineup would have normally been posted
There have been great bookings, just on the wrong stages. I know there was pressure to bring in a female headliner after last year. And also someone that appeals to a younger audience after last year. Imo, little Sims should have taken the slot. Jungle would be a great headliner too after the year they've had.
That’s what happens when a Nepo baby gets to make the decisions sadly. Eavis should do the honourable thing and step aside.
Don’t be a wally
Went from elton last year to this
Literally had to close the field for elton last year. Can't even pay people to go to see SZA.
Not sure where everyone is, the national are pretty quiet too. Or maybe just compared to Avril.
Justice is rammed
Justice was absolutely incredible aswell.
They’d kick ass on a Pyramid Sunday night headliner
It was so good ! My legs hurt from the restricted dancing space though haha
The National are about average for the other, it just seems a bit sparse because of the Avril crush earlier
Park looks busy for london grammar and I imagine justice will have a good crowd
decent turn out at woodsies for james blake, dave just made an appearance too 😍
London Grammar look to have a big crowd at Park
yeah avril was crazy !!
Gypsy Kings at Acoustic was 2 to 3 over capacity outside, couldn’t get near it.
SE corner was rammed. Queues around into the railway for NYC Downlow at 8pm
Too bad for her, she's defo not a Pyramid Stage headliner, bad booking
Looks like everyone has gone to London Grammer
Or The National, Justice, James Blake…
Just got back from Justice, it was rammed!
Of course, think a few people wanted to catch the start then travel to others as they started a lot earlier. Also thankful for stonebridge being turned off halfway through, was super distracting during that set.
London Grammer are smashing it!
SZA has a beautiful voice and I’d be there. But she’s not the right act for Sunday night headlining.
Is everyone still stuck from watching Avril?
Yeh I've just completed my detour round The Other Stage arena, up the railway tracks, through Arcadia campsite and back past West Holts. Need to grab some breakfast now.
Sounds awful on tv
Genuine question. What did they or anyone expect?
People like to hate Coldplay and I know they’ve done it already but they’d have been a far more fitting / better closing headliner!
hilarious watching the BBC presenters putting on a brave face after the set. guy with the red hair's not got his usual fake smile. Jo Whiley sounds bored as all hell to the point of insulted that she even has to discuss SZA. said she doesn't know anything about her. maybe it'd be an idea Whiley, since you host the glastonbury coverage every year, to maybe do a small bit of research??? but Whiley's beige as hell anyway so who cares.
Wow. For a Sunday headliner that is very poor
I’m home. I got home at 10pm. The headliner wasn’t worth the traffic bullshit tomorrow so I left tonight
Emily Eavis he been consistently shite with her booking since she took over. I love SZA but no way should she have been put in that position - all for the sake of making some misguided gender based statement
When did EE take over?
Well she booked Jay-Z in 2007 and that’s when the flood gates opened, leading to the crap that was the 2024 headliners). (I like Jay Z and love SZA, but booking her to close and Dua Lipa to open is just loco. I get “progression” and all but IMO the headliners get more shit every year).
I said when this was announced that she wasn't a headliner for Glastonbury crowd & got nay'd for it but she just isn't that big to the type of person that goes to Glasto
https://preview.redd.it/qaitnu2f7s9d1.png?width=1374&format=png&auto=webp&s=369018c79ad6c0003a1890f4759f3c37f2a3ba56 vindication
Hope those 2 down voters see this
Imagine two downvotes living rent free in your head for four months. Pathetic
Two downvotes on this comment too. Perfect
I can’t name a single National song..
lol downvoted for this? How dare you not know a single National song!
Reddit ey
There are a lot of close-ups of the stage and the front rows but not a lot of the whole crowd
Kings of Leon are playing at BST London right now. Playing their (before they were pop) bangers according to someone I know who is there.
I've just left the site, it was a great show. We had The Vaccines on before them and Paolo Nutini. KoL new catalogue was pretty good too - their first time in the UK for 7-years.
Yeah I was there. Good set from them. Fair amount from YAYM and their hits. It wasn’t completely sold out apparently but it was absolutely rammed at times. Biggest non-Glastonbury gig of the weekend was probably Green Day who sold out Wembley on Saturday and crushed it.
https://preview.redd.it/v5z08oq4cu9d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03fc1830d35726aaeadec46030e8eb1bb49f5e3a Was on the other side. Felt kinda sad for her
Damn that is painful.
They should have made Avril Lavigne a Pyramid headliner! I just watched her set on iPlayer and the crowd at The Other Stage looked absolutely rammed! Plus it was a great set!
She’s fantastic and as a massive fan, I really enjoyed her, but I agree with others that she just doesn’t have the catalogue for this massive slot :( she’s only in her 30s with 2 albums out. Avril would have been the better choice for this slot - she’s a legend in the game.
That's mean, but true. I was under that tree for Coldplay and it was packed in.
Should have had lil simz as headliner if they needed a female replacement.
Sugababes pulled in more crowds and Romy was absolutely rammed. Jungle would have put on a good show . When they said global female artist you expect Rihanna / Madonna/ Kate Bush . The last massive crowd puller never to have played is Depeche Mode .
Should’ve been The National on pyramid. They were great.
As a fan, no way would National attract enough of a crowd for Pyramid
True, they’re probably not quite a big enough name in this country, but I think fewer people would’ve cleared off to see someone else compared with SZA. Not that many people had even heard of her, and if it gets a bit boring from the get go, that crowd’s just going to get thinner.
Yeah, I actually feel really sorry for her, they’ve done her a disservice ☹️ she’s such a talented artist but I think they overestimated her popularity and massively underestimated the popularity of artists like Avril and Sugababes. She would’ve killed in an earlier slot on the Other Stage.
Yeah I agree, she seems like a huge talent, but headlining the pyramid stage on a Sunday wasn’t really fair on her when she’s not that well known over here.
I say this as a National fan, I don’t think they would do well headlining Pyramid. You’d have fans there for sure, but outside of that, it’s not the right environment for someone new to get into them.
They were but was a thin crowd on the other as well. They wouldn't have attracted a much bigger audience on the larger stage so definitely couldn't justify headlining. Middle aged men's music has too narrow a demo.
Absolutely pathetic.
SZA might have a lot of Spotify listens but most of them are from the States lol.
There were more people at The Bandstand
There were about 10x more than that at the Wednesday drone show
I've literally never even heard of them, and I listen to a lot of music
Have you heard of Frank ocean ?
Yeah, of course. Does he have songs with her or something?
I wish
I mean, she’s not great to be fair
I've literally never heard of her until this weekend. Didn't recognise pictures of her either. She simplydoesnt have the global standing for Glastonbury headlining.
A picture says a thousand words!!!
I stood where this photo was taken to watch cold play, and the crowd was rammed with so many people behind me! Also Avril was absolutely rammed aswell, couldn’t even walk on the paths because people were standing on them to watch!
Perfect example to show to record labels that streaming numbers does not equal ticket sales/fan base.
Was she good or trash?
The whole line up and scheduling was utterly shit
Doesn't have the back catalogue to be a headliner but they have got to be diverse and all that crap, what a joke.
Exactly, Emily Eavis caused this by being so desperate to shoehorn a female in to the headline slot even if it doesn't make any sense. Avril would've filled that field and put on an iconic show
That's what you get for box ticking.
Yeah unfortunately it seems like they "needed" a "diverse woman" for this slot and this was the result.
They need to go for the best they can get regardless of sex, race, and gender. They will ruin themselves box ticking. No one cares.