Lorde Performs New Album ‘Virgin' in Full at Surprise Glastonbury 2025 Show
Lorde played a surprise set at Glastonbury on Friday (June 27), in celebration of her freshly released LP, Virgin. Watch footage from the show below.
Taking to the stage in the opening slot on the Woodsies Stage, the singer performed the new album in full and tore through two standout tracks from her back catalogue.
More from Billboard
Lorde's 'Virgin': All 11 Tracks Ranked
Ask Billboard: Here Are the Nos. 1 & 2 Reasons That the Hot 100 Has Been Historic This Month
Inside Bouyon: How a Fusion of Local Folk Music & Digitized Instruments Gave Way to Dominica's Fast-Spreading Homegrown Genre
The 28-year-old was not promoted as part of this year's official festival lineup. However, discussion had begun about a possible appearance after she teased a trip to Worthy Farm in an interview with BBC Radio 2's Jo Whiley earlier this month.
The likes of Olivia Dean and Example were among the rumored artists for the much-anticipated 'TBA' slot at Woodsies, before Lorde seemingly confirmed that she would be performing when she posted an aerial photo of the tent to her Instagram Story on Thursday (June 26).With her beloved titanium water bottle by her side, she opened her set with 'Hammer.' She then went on to play the rest of the record in order, including singles 'What Was That' and 'Man of the Year.'
After the latter, Lorde acknowledged the support of both the crowd and Glastonbury festival. 'This is f–king sick,' she began. 'Thank you for being here with us on the day that Virgin is born. We decided to play the whole record for you front to back. This may be a one-of-one [performance], you know.'
She then alluded to the difficult and protracted creative process behind Virgin. 'I didn't know if I was ever going to make another record, to be honest — but I am back. I am completely free. I am so grateful for you for waiting, I am grateful for you sitting in the sun right now. It's going to be a great f–cking Glastonbury.'
Lorde finished the set with impassioned renditions of 'Ribs' and 'Green Light.' The former, which stands as the emotional centrepiece of debut album Pure Heroine, made its first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 in May — 12 years on from its release.
The track debuted at No. 99 on the chart dated May 10, largely driven by 5 million official U.S. streams for the tracking week ending May 2 — a 51% gain over the previous week, according to Luminate. It had received a surge in streaming momentum following a planned pop-up appearance at New York's Washington Square Park the month prior. 'This [show] is crazy for me, I hope you understand,' Lorde said ahead of launching into 'Ribs.'The New Zealander first appeared at Glastonbury in 2017 on The Other Stage, shortly after the release of her soaring second album, Melodrama. She returned five years later to play the Pyramid Stage, a set which included surprise appearances from Clairo and Arlo Parks.
Friday marks the first main day of music at Glastonbury 2025, with a highly anticipated Pyramid Stage headline set from The 1975 and Billboard U.K. cover star Loyle Carner closing The Other Stage. There will also be performances from the likes of CMAT, Mercury Prize winners English Teacher, Lola Young, Wet Leg, PinkPantheress and many more.
Elsewhere, anticipation for further surprise sets continues to bubble across the site. With a series of TBAs on the lineup, speculation is rife that an act named 'Patchwork' — who is set to perform on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday (June 28) — could be Britpop heroes Pulp. The band released its chart-topping eighth studio album, More, on June 6 to critical acclaim.
Secret slots have been a feature of Glastonbury for decades. In 2023, the festival platformed a mysterious band on the Pyramid Stage named 'The Churnups,' which turned out to be the Foo Fighters. Other artists who have made surprise appearances in recent years include Fred Again.., Kasabian and Jack White, among others.
Best of Billboard
Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1
Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits
H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Lorde's racy 'Virgin' vinyl artwork stirs controversy
Lorde is getting intimate in more ways than one on her new album. The Grammy-winning songstress, 28, is stirring up controversy on social media thanks to the artwork from her latest record "Virgin." The 11-track LP, coproduced and cowritten by Lorde (real name: Ella Yelich-O'Connor), marks the alternative pop singer's return to the music scene after 2021's "Solar Power." The vinyl edition of the album features an eight-page photo booklet, according to Lorde's official website. The product description includes the advisory warning, "Adult images." One of the images in question reportedly includes a nude shot of Lorde, with the photo showing the crotch of an individual wearing see-through pants. Lorde's 'Man Of The Year' TikTok trend: Why Gen Z copes with humor A representative for Lorde confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the singer is the individual featured in the photo. USA TODAY has reached out to representatives of Lorde for comment. The album artwork drew scrutiny online for its racy depiction of the singer, dividing fans who were shocked by Lorde's apparent embrace of nudity and others who were unfazed by the skin-baring photo. "Me when I saw Lorde's vinyl cover on my timeline," X user @leasweetener wrote alongside a clip of Anne Hathaway's "Idea of You" character Solène Marchand slamming a laptop shut in horror. me when i saw lorde's .. vinyl cover on my "Just saw that Lorde vinyl cover," @sayfoncaffeine wrote, inserting a GIF of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" character Rowley Jefferson looking confused. just saw that lorde vinyl cover "Should've stayed curious about the Lorde vinyl😭😭," @deluluboy2 wrote alongside a clip of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" alum NeNe Leakes exclaiming, "What?! That is shocking." should've stayed curious abt the lorde vinyl😭😭 Despite the musical controversy, some fans came to Lorde's defense. "The Lorde vinyl was not that bad. Y'all love to overreact," X user @serialexpplain wrote. "That Lorde vinyl cover ain't even that serious (for real), and y'all are dragging it," @lele_westwood wrote. "I really thought the Lorde vinyl insert would be a lot worse than people are saying it is," @lqbyrinths wrote. "You guys are kinda dramatic 😭" Lorde is back with 2025 tour: How to get tickets to Ultrasound tour In a May interview with Rolling Stone, Lorde reflected on the "vulnerable" and "messy" nature of "Virgin" and the impact the album could have on her public image. "There's going to be a lot of people who don't think I'm a good girl anymore, a good woman. It's over," Lorde told the outlet. "It will be over for a lot of people, and then for some people, I will have arrived. I'll be where they always hoped I'd be." This isn't the first time Lorde has featured explicit imagery in her work. The album cover for "Solar Power" showed a bikini-clad Lorde "jumping over a friend on a beach," but the ground-level angle gave an unfiltered view of the singer's buttocks. 10 bingeable memoirs to check out: Celebrities tell all about aging, marriage and Beyoncé During a June 2021 interview on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," the singer said the image was "a little hardcore, but it was so joyful to me." "It felt innocent and playful and a little bit feral and sexy," Lorde continued. "You've got to do it while you've got it."
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
REVIEW: Rod Stewart brings out Rock 'n' Roll legends at Glastonbury
THE one and only Rod Stewart just brought out Rock 'N' Roll legends on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2025. Sir Rod Stewart occupied the Legends slot today (Sunday, June 29) - and many people, including myself, weren't expecting to see Mick Hucknell, Ronnie Wood, and Lulu, as they were jokingly mentioned by Rod halfway through his Glastonbury set. More on this later. READ MORE: Glastonbury Festival 2025: who is performing with Rod Stewart? READ MORE: Glastonbury Festival 2025 Live: Sunday news and updates The rockstar, now 80, had plenty of surprises up his sleeve, and it's clear to see where his £300,000+ budget has gone. Kicking off the set with 'Tonight I'm Yours', Sir Rod Stewart came onto the Pyramid strutting his stuff in a black and gold suit supported by six backing singers, who nearly stole the show. Jimmy the saxophone player was also a massive hit during this set, with Rod letting him take the floor on centre stage multiple times, and the crowd loved it. Jimmy was my personal favourite of the whole show, along with a certain guitar player. Sir Rod Stewart performing with Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. (Image: Newsquest) Lulu and Sir Rod Stewart at Glastonbury 2025. (Image: Newsquest) The knighted rockstar then played several of his classics, including 'Some Guys Have All The Luck', 'Love Train', and 'The First Cut Is The Deepest' - with the latter getting a lot of love. I was expecting Rod not to be 100%, especially with news of his illness in recent months. I'm not a massive fan of the guy, and he's also a bit before my time, but I was more than surprised with his Glastonbury set. Rod was constantly moving from side to side, trying to make the most of his 1 hour 30-minute slot. I particularly found it funny how he would finish a song and then shout, 'NEXT', hilarious. Rod continued to roll through his 20th-century classics, which included 'Forever Young', 'You Wear It Well', and 'Wake Up Maggie'. The musician was loving it out there. The green and red flares were out for Rod when he started singing 'If You Want My Body', which Rod played after he paid tribute to musician Christine McVie, who died aged 79, back in 2022. This song had everyone bouncing, even with the scorching sun, and I have to say - it's my favourite Rod Stewart track. Then the Glastonbury crowd roared as Rod Stewart announced the co-creator of the Glastonbury Festival, Sir Michael Eavis, to the stage. This was insane to experience live, and Michael got lots of love, deservedly. Before Sir Michael came on, we got a rendition of Patti Labelle's 'Hey Sister, Soul Sister'. It was great to see the cappella from the backing singers, and they also impressed with a cover of 'Rolling On a River'. It was great to see Rod then bring out Mick Hucknell, Ronnie Wood, and Lulu. I particularly enjoyed Rod performing 'Hot Legs' with Lulu. The pair had great on-stage chemistry. Ronnie was really well-received. He hasn't lost it since his prime Rolling Stones days. Would love to see him bring the Rolling Stones to Glastonbury Festival 2027. I thought that all three guest appearances were great, but I'm not going to lie, I was a little let down. I know that the style of music wouldn't have matched up too well with Rod, but I would have loved to have seen Robbie Williams perform alongside him today - they could have made it work for sure. No political remarks from Rod during the whole set, which I thought was quite unexpected given what we've seen at Glastonbury this year. Aged just 24, I'm not exactly Rod's target audience, but I know Rod and I know his classics, which are great tunes, but my question for you is - would you be annoyed if Sir Rod Stewart headlined last night instead of Neil Young? I know my answer. What a performance. 9/10.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
People have one complaint as The Libertines wow Glastonbury
Fans were blown away by Carl Barat and Pete Doherty's band the Libertines as they performed on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on Sunday afternoon. One called them the greatest British band for the last 20 years while another said they were criminally underrated and a third said they had a catalogue of absolute bangers. Yet fans had one complaint with the band's slot on the Pyramid Stage ahead of Rod Stewart's legends slot on the fifth day of the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. READ MORE: Fans say cancel Glastonbury after hearing surprise headliner's performance READ MORE: Welsh cafe owner's TikTok live broadcast of Kneecap from Glastonbury gets more than one million views Some said that the crowd's response to the English rock band was disappointing. One fan took to X and posted: "The Libertines deserve better than this f****** Rod Stewart crowd". Another said: "Watching The Libertines and I've seen livelier crowds at a funeral, not the band's fault just woeful atmosphere". But other fans focused on praising the band for their performance. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here. On X, one fan said: "Absolutely brilliant set by The Libertines at Glastonbury. Memories flooding back. Great stuff!" Another music fan said: "The Libertines. What a catalogue of absolute bangers man. That hour just flew by." While another said: "Extremely jealous of everyone watching Libertines smash the Pyramid Stage right now! Another said: "The Libertines have got some serious tunes under their belt . Absolute masterful song writing" Another fan remarked: "This setlist by The Libertines is class and absolutely wasted on this crowd". Another social media user said: "The libertines are so criminally underrated I don't even care". The band, which formed in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty, sang a variety of their most notable songs, including Up the Bracket, What Became of the Likely Lads and What Katie Did. Other stars who will be performing on stage on Sunday, June 29, at Glastonbury include Rod Stewart, The Prodigy, Olivia Rodrigo and CHIC.
