2019 Headliners

[dentalplan]

4 minutes ago, Gucci Piggy said:

Reckon Rihanna's still big enough? We were debating whether Gaga was last year and I'd have thought they're on a similar level now. A few years back (maybe 2015) Rihanna was one of my main predictions to headline but now I'm not sure. Didn't her last tour struggle massively? In the pop/rap realm (grouping them together because I can't see them booking more than one non-"rock" headliner) I'd be less surprised to see Stormzy/Kendrick/Drake/Swift.

Well that struggling tour might be why she'd take a Glastonbury headline slot, mightn't it? Tbf the tour she struggled to sell was a six-date stadium tour and she still played four of them, so hardly a worry that she'll be playing to The National-sized crowds when it comes to showtime. Lady Gaga was only debated because a non-headline slot was what was reported and people were dead set on believing it.

Anyway, contrasting to Drake who can and will play stadiums easily and has no obvious reason to take a Glasto headline slot, Kendrick who gets paid about ten times the Glasto fee to do his thing and Swift who tours this summer and doesn't seem to enjoy doing festivals that aren't promotional appearances or clock in at over half an hour, I think Rihanna's a good bet. Stormzy is a candidate but his Other sub slot feels mighty recent, considering he was already established and massive then.

[Gucci Piggy]

4 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

Well that struggling tour might be why she'd take a Glastonbury headline slot, mightn't it? Tbf the tour she struggled to sell was a six-date stadium tour and she still played four of them, so hardly a worry that she'll be playing to The National-sized crowds when it comes to showtime. Lady Gaga was only debated because a non-headline slot was what was reported and people were dead set on believing it.

Anyway, contrasting to Drake who can and will play stadiums easily and has no obvious reason to take a Glasto headline slot, Kendrick who gets paid about ten times the Glasto fee to do his thing and Swift who tours this summer and doesn't seem to enjoy doing festivals that aren't promotional appearances or clock in at over half an hour, I think Rihanna's a good bet. Stormzy is a candidate but his Other sub slot feels mighty recent, considering he was already established and massive then.

Yeah I'm sure Rihanna would take it, it's whether Glasto would want to book her as a headliner. It's not like she was ever too big for Glasto and they've had to wait for demand to subside to be able to bag her. Fair enough on the stadiums, I couldn't remember what sized tour it was that struggled.

Wasn't aware the Gaga rumours were specifically for a non-headline slot, but even before that I'm sure people had been saying she's no longer big enough to headline Glasto.

And yeah I don't expect to see Drake or Swift (with what you said above about her, she was probably a bad shout tbf) headline; I just think someone like that (Kendrick, too) making an exception to headline is more likely than them settling for someone like Rihanna who's well past her commercial prime and would feel like a pretty underwhelming booking.

[dentalplan]

10 minutes ago, Gucci Piggy said:

Yeah I'm sure Rihanna would take it, it's whether Glasto would want to book her as a headliner. It's not like she was ever too big for Glasto and they've had to wait for demand to subside to be able to bag her. Fair enough on the stadiums, I couldn't remember what sized tour it was that struggled.

Wasn't aware the Gaga rumours were specifically for a non-headline slot, but even before that I'm sure people had been saying she's no longer big enough to headline Glasto.

And yeah I don't expect to see Drake or Swift (with what you said above about her, she was probably a bad shout tbf) headline; I just think someone like that (Kendrick, too) making an exception to headline is more likely than them settling for someone like Rihanna who's well past her commercial prime and would feel like a pretty underwhelming booking.

In that case, the prediction of Gaga playing lower than headline didn't actually come to anything and her Superbowl and Coachella shows seem to have put paid to predictions of earlier in the day at future Glastonburys so I don't see how that matters to anything.

It's possible that Glastonbury would have had to wait for her demand to subside for Rihanna's people to approach Glastonbury with the possibility of playing, which is apparently how they go about booking the massive acts. Do you think they'd reject her now because she's slightly past her peak? "Well past her prime" is quite an overstatement too, given that's completely predicated on a fumbled launch for Anti and she's been on three of the biggest songs in the past two years. It's quite possible that she'd still be a bigger hit with mainstream crowds than Kendrick Lamar even with a recent flop.

[Gucci Piggy]

42 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

In that case, the prediction of Gaga playing lower than headline didn't actually come to anything and her Superbowl and Coachella shows seem to have put paid to predictions of earlier in the day at future Glastonburys so I don't see how that matters to anything.

It's possible that Glastonbury would have had to wait for her demand to subside for Rihanna's people to approach Glastonbury with the possibility of playing, which is apparently how they go about booking the massive acts. Do you think they'd reject her now because she's slightly past her peak? "Well past her prime" is quite an overstatement too, given that's completely predicated on a fumbled launch for Anti and she's been on three of the biggest songs in the past two years. It's quite possible that she'd still be a bigger hit with mainstream crowds than Kendrick Lamar even with a recent flop.

Well no it doesn't matter all that much. I was just asking if he personally thinks she's big enough still in the same way that lots of us were asking the question last year of whether Gaga was still big enough, as they seem on a similar level to me. I wasn't trying to rule her out or anything.

No I don't think they'd reject her just because she's past her peak, but I think at her peak she'd have been a decent booking as a Glasto headliner yet now she feels a little small and underwhelming. If at her peak she was the size of Adele or current Beyoncé and had declined to the level of usual Glasto headliners then sure, but in her situation it would feel pretty underwhelming imo.

[eFestivals]

Fleetwood Muc have got to be a shoe-in, haven't they? 

Their US tourdates strongly suggest them being in Europe at about the right time.

[dentalplan]

4 minutes ago, Gucci Piggy said:

Well no it doesn't matter all that much. I was just asking if he personally thinks she's big enough still in the same way that lots of us were asking the question last year of whether Gaga was still big enough, as they seem on a similar level to me. I wasn't trying to rule her out or anything.

No I don't think they'd reject her just because she's past her peak, but I think at her peak she'd have been a decent booking as a Glasto headliner yet now she feels a little small and underwhelming. If at her peak she was the size of Adele or current Beyoncé and had declined to the level of usual Glasto headliners then sure, but in her situation it would feel pretty underwhelming imo.

At her peak she could definitely at least hold a candle to those two though. I'm pretty sure she's in the top 10 selling artists of all time, and she's only 30 now! That's why I think it'd be perfect to headline next year because she's still at a point where she can halt or reverse said decline. Besides, the shake up in popular culture recently is probably gonna make people a bit more mindful about dismissing female popstars as yesterday's news after one blip and moving onto someone else, and I think Emily will be all for that as well.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Rihanna would still be a draw, I think, and I can't imagine the Eavii wouldn't want her provided she wasn't asking for silly money.

Mac, Riri Fenty and A.N. Other sounds good to me.

[Hugh Jass]

22 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

Fleetwood Muc have got to be a shoe-in, haven't they? 

Their US tourdates strongly suggest them being in Europe at about the right time.

Just saw those dates and came here to suggest the very same thing.

Unless they take the IOW pound again.

[thewayiam]

I defo think FM without Lindsey Buckingham will agree to play, even if IOW were to grab then again but surely they won't return there that quick. 

Arctic Monkeys, FM and another, surely they won't get FM and Madonna in the same year?, it would make you wonder how 2020 could better it.

[FloorFiller]

Just now, thewayiam said:

Arctic Monkeys, FM and another, surely they won't get FM and Madonna in the same year?, it would make you wonder how 2020 could better it.

By not having Arctic Monkeys play.

[thewayiam]

Just now, FloorFiller said:

By not having Arctic Monkeys play.

Can't see it happening at all.

[Gucci Piggy]

1 minute ago, thewayiam said:

Can't see it happening at all.

? He's saying 2020 will be better because it won't have Arctic Monkeys

[thewayiam]

3 minutes ago, Gucci Piggy said:

? He's saying 2020 will be better because it won't have Arctic Monkeys

I know, I got that after I went out but couldn't just left it as couldn't be bothered.

Joking aside though that would be huge for 2020 let alone 2019. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Weesax from the Arctic Monkeys doing his new songs about how he's bored of L.A., down the phone from L.A.

And yet still more entertaining than his previous headline slots.

[Mattymooz]

Rihanna would easily be in the too big to do this category imo. She's almost Bieber level imo in the fact she is still relevant now even though her album came out 2 years ago and there's been no sign of her working on a new one. Usually artists turn into a bit of a recluse between album cycles, but somehow rihanna manages to be perpetually popular whether that is due to music, films, makeup or clothing lines. She doesn't strike me as someone who would want to do it to be able to say she's done Glasto either.

Lady Gaga in comparison had a very mediocre album (sorry Artpop, you were too weird, if it had happened a couple of years later after the edm boom maybe it would have been fine) which also had some very stupid PR moves; an R Kelly feature just as the controversy hit and not a lot of promo, missing music videos, a second album that got scrapped etc. Then she did the Jazz album, which while fantastic was not radio friendly. Then Joanne which did alright I guess, but nowhere near as good as her first 2 albums. Not to mention her Coachella single which was very generic. In saying that Gaga is someone who I imagine would want to headline Glasto if she had the chance.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Too big to headline?  That's not a thing.

[Gucci Piggy]

10 minutes ago, Mattymooz said:

Rihanna would easily be in the too big to do this category imo. She's almost Bieber level imo in the fact she is still relevant now even though her album came out 2 years ago and there's been no sign of her working on a new one. Usually artists turn into a bit of a recluse between album cycles, but somehow rihanna manages to be perpetually popular whether that is due to music, films, makeup or clothing lines. She doesn't strike me as someone who would want to do it to be able to say she's done Glasto either.

Lady Gaga in comparison had a very mediocre album (sorry Artpop, you were too weird, if it had happened a couple of years later after the edm boom maybe it would have been fine) which also had some very stupid PR moves; an R Kelly feature just as the controversy hit and not a lot of promo, missing music videos, a second album that got scrapped etc. Then she did the Jazz album, which while fantastic was not radio friendly. Then Joanne which did alright I guess, but nowhere near as good as her first 2 albums. Not to mention her Coachella single which was very generic. In saying that Gaga is someone who I imagine would want to headline Glasto if she had the chance.

Rihanna easily too big to headline a festival that The Rolling Stones played a few years back aye alright.

[Guy Incognito]

Kendrick

Arctic Monkeys

Fleetwood Mac

Edited April 25, 2018 by rhg_99

[Mattymooz]

26 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Too big to headline?  That's not a thing.

As in why would she. She aint British so it probably isn't as important to her to headline it, and she can easily make more money doing a stadium tour instead. It's the same reason I don't expect Taylor Swift or Drake to headline

[Gucci Piggy]

2 minutes ago, Mattymooz said:

As in why would she. She aint British so it probably isn't as important to her to headline it, and she can easily make more money doing a stadium tour instead. It's the same reason I don't expect Taylor Swift or Drake to headline

She might not want to, but she isn't too big.

In the same way The Strokes apparently always take the big money so would never be expected to appear at Glasto. Doesn't mean they're too big.

[Mattymooz]

3 minutes ago, Gucci Piggy said:

She might not want to, but she isn't too big.

In the same way The Strokes apparently always take the big money so would never be expected to appear at Glasto. Doesn't mean they're too big.

Sorry I assumed what I meant was pretty obvious

[Lubic]

6 minutes ago, rhg_99 said:

Kendrick

Arctic Monkeys

Fleetwood Mac

Thats the trio I went for when discussing this with our group. Strong across the board.

I probably wouldn't pay to see FM again without Lyndsey, so soon after the last tour, but they'd still be a pretty great sunday headliner

[oxygentleman]

10 minutes ago, Mattymooz said:

As in why would she. She aint British so it probably isn't as important to her to headline it, and she can easily make more money doing a stadium tour instead. It's the same reason I don't expect Taylor Swift or Drake to headline

All the headliners that could do stadium tours would earn more money from those shows than Glastonbury, what's your point?

Besides I'm pretty sure ticket sales for her last time stadium tour were rather weak and I'm pretty sure she had to cancel a show or two, doesn't scream "too big" to me.

Beyonce's much bigger and she's not British, why did she headline?

[Gucci Piggy]

27 minutes ago, Mattymooz said:

Sorry I assumed what I meant was pretty obvious

But that's nothing to do with being too big. There are probably undercard acts that refuse to play Glasto because it doesn't pay much. Pretty sure Wiley or someone moaned about it before (he was actually playing, but still, I'm sure there are acts that refuse to play for that reason).

[Mattymooz]

20 minutes ago, oxygentleman said:

All the headliners that could do stadium tours would earn more money from those shows than Glastonbury, what's your point?

Besides I'm pretty sure ticket sales for her last time stadium tour were rather weak and I'm pretty sure she had to cancel a show or two, doesn't scream "too big" to me.

Beyonce's much bigger and she's not British, why did she headline?

I'm not saying it's impossible, but I wouldn't say she is likely. I wouldn't predict her (in the same way I wouldn't predict Beyonce ever headlining again). Beyonce also does many more festies than Rihanna, so I wouldn't be suprised if Beyonce has some kind of festival bucket list or something but Rihanna doesn't care?

Admittedly I didn't follow her last tour, but as you say any stadium tour act can probably make more money doing that than playing Glasto. I think British acts and rock acts are both more likely to do Glasto because of it's history, that's not saying it is impossible for other acts, but definitely not likely imo.