Rodrigo is best known as a purveyor of teen angst – and you got the sense that she was the most important act for every girl under 16 at Glastonbury this year. But while the crowd contained plenty of excited teens and children with their parents, lots clad in purple sparkles, there were just as many grown-ups exorcising their inner adolescent.
Olivia Rodrigo performs on the Pyramid Stage on the final day of Glastonbury 2025 (Photo: Oli SCARFF / AFP)
As Friday’s headliners know well, electric guitars and swagger alone do not a rock star make – but the difference between Rodrigo and The 1975 is that Rodrigo is utterly confident, seemingly unconcerned with her status or her identity. She knows she’s firmly a pop star – but she uses it to her advantage, using her image and her sense of theatre to command the audience and put herself at the centre of the music, whether that’s through a pair of Union Jack sequinned hot pants or exaggerated facial expressions to guide us through the songs.
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These songs are angsty break-up anthems about jealousy and insecurity and being screwed over that, again, are just as relevant for the adults as they are for the teens, even if some emotional complexity is, to put it lightly, blurred over. “Guess you didn’t cheat, but you’re still a traitor,” sang the 120,000 people gathered on the hill at dusk as bright purple lights illuminated the stage – some feelings never really leave us.
Rodrigo seemed genuinely thrilled to be there. “Glastonbury’s my dream festival,” she told us – and it was clear the feeling was mutual. She explained that she loved “England” for its “pub culture” and “sweets from M&S” – and promptly segued into a song called “So American”, showing a kind of self-awareness that is bound to charm a Glastonbury crowd (though it remained unclear if she realised those hotpants, which appeared after an outfit change for a launch into the grungy hit “brutal”, were also representative of two additional countries).
At times, I felt a bit like I was watching the Disney channel – but there’s a reason it’s a factory for big stars. And to command that slot with such confidence and charisma? It’s not for the faint-hearted. Tonight, a 22-year-old Olivia Rodrigo displayed showmanship beyond her years, and saw out Glastonbury with a bright-purple bang.
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