2024 Headliners

[mouserat]

I'm still not convinced. Mostly because Emily seems very keen to stress Legend is a fourth headliner, has confirmed it's a woman, and has made comments about two female headliners. So I think it's either Dua or Madonna - not both. 

[Colorblindjames]

18 minutes ago, FloopFiller said:

Dua is 100% a headliner if she plays and that will become even more glaringly obvious in the coming months as her new singles are dominating the charts and album rollout begins. We’ve also now had a reliable source telling us they’ve heard Coldplay and Dua so I’d be shocked if she isn’t one at this point (likewise the safe but insanely popular Coldplay).

The third is imo the only real question mark left. Madonna’s the big hope, Rihanna a step down but I’d be happy with, Pink would be incredibly whelming (on paper - I’m sure she’d smash the performance, just not an act I can get particularly excited about and also just don’t believe is a contender). 

Rihanna would be a step up from Madonna IMO. Considering she hasn't played much in the last few years it would be quite a scoop for the festival. 

The festival needs to get away from putting old timers in the headline slots. Thats what the legend slot and Hyde park are for. 

[giantkatestacks]

I might actually watch Coldplay this time (out of 4 possible times so far). I went to see The Killers with an open mind and had a really good time and I reckon it will be the same. 

[Joey Peeps]

7 minutes ago, mouserat said:

I'm still not convinced. Mostly because Emily seems very keen to stress Legend is a fourth headliner, has confirmed it's a woman, and has made comments about two female headliners. So I think it's either Dua or Madonna - not both. 

Not impossible and you're right she was really keen to emphasise the quasi headliner status of the legend slot, and that it was a female booked for that next year. Could be Dua, Coldplay, Depeche Mode. I'm still hedging towards the alternative though, two outright female headliners. It seems more likely in light of Emily's comments over the past year or so following the aggro about last year's all male top bill, and her comments on the podcast about them how them holding off will all make sense when they release the line-up. Pink or Madonna.

 

Probably Pink, IMO.

[CaledonianGonzo]

12 minutes ago, Colorblindjames said:

Rihanna would be a step up from Madonna IMO. Considering she hasn't played much in the last few years it would be quite a scoop for the festival. 

The festival needs to get away from putting old timers in the headline slots. Thats what the legend slot and Hyde park are for. 

Madonna playing mid afternoon? Right ye are.

[american idiot]

12 hours ago, Traci said:

She had it all, voice, dancers, lights etc , very much the British Beyoncé in my opinion. 

This might be the single most insane thing ever said on this forum. I'm impressed.

[stuie]

16 minutes ago, Colorblindjames said:

The festival needs to get away from putting old timers in the headline slots. Thats what the legend slot and Hyde park are for. 

“Sorry Madonna, Queen of Pop, we understand that you’ve just sold out 78 shows in 9 countries, but you’re just not a Glastonbury headliner. Sunday teatime ok?” 
 

[CaledonianGonzo]

To be fair, previous older headliners Elton and Macca were both noted disasters, the pair of them playing to a deserted field 

[Colorblindjames]

12 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Madonna playing mid afternoon? Right ye are.

Or not playing at all. 

As I said if you want old timers poorly banging out their hits maybe Hyde Park is better. 

[FloopFiller]

2 minutes ago, Colorblindjames said:

Or not playing at all. 

As I said if you want old timers poorly banging out their hits maybe Hyde Park is better. 

What age would you draw the line at?

[Colorblindjames]

6 minutes ago, stuie said:

“Sorry Madonna, Queen of Pop, we understand that you’ve just sold out 78 shows in 9 countries, but you’re just not a Glastonbury headliner. Sunday teatime ok?” 
 

That market is served by Hyde Park. 

I'm not sure why the festival wastes money on old artist headliners unless they are still making cutting edge music. This impacts the quality of the festival undercard IMO. 

It's supposed to be a festival of contemporary arts after all. 

[Colorblindjames]

Just now, FloopFiller said:

What age would you draw the line at?

I would draw the line based on the artistic merit of their current musical output not age. 

[Colorblindjames]

10 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

To be fair, previous older headliners Elton and Macca were both noted disasters, the pair of them playing to a deserted field 

Ah so your only criteria for a headline act is radio friendly unit shifters? 

[american idiot]

6 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

To be fair, previous older headliners Elton and Macca were both noted disasters, the pair of them playing to a deserted field 

Both Elton and McCartney have enormous timeless discographies that even teenagers will know and love. Madonna's music hasn't aged anywhere as gracefully. Yes, she'll draw a big crowd, but it's certainly not the "massive" draw some people in here think it is. Unlike Elton and McCartney, blowing most of the budget on a 65 year old Madonna would be (and likely is going to be) a big disappointment to virtually everyone under the age of 40. Pair that next to Dua and Coldplay it just feels like a bunch of big names without much substance.

[stuie]

1 minute ago, Colorblindjames said:

That market is served by Hyde Park. 

I'm not sure why the festival wastes money on old artist headliners unless they are still making cutting edge music. This impacts the quality of the festival undercard IMO. 

It's supposed to be a festival of contemporary arts after all. 

Yes you’re right, no one went to Elton or Macca! Madge had better watch out for the pyramid field tumbleweed. 

It’s the biggest stage in the country, for the biggest artists. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Just now, Colorblindjames said:

Ah so your only criteria for a headline act is radio friendly unit shifters? 

I'd say the criteria is for the festival to book acts that entertain significant numbers of ticket holders and to ensure the repeated business that follows.

Booking Arca to headline the Pyramid might gain credibility points in the short term but it would only take a couple of years of that kind of thing to pretty much kill the festival 

[FloopFiller]

‘Sorry Madonna, you’ve got one of the biggest and best arsenal of pop bangers under your belt, but unfortunately you churned most of them out in your early career like almost every artist ever, so no dice’.

[Gnomicide]

2 hours ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Yip. Something for everyone.

[homesick]

18 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

To be fair, previous older headliners Elton and Macca were both noted disasters, the pair of them playing to a deserted field 

Indeed - who would want bonafide legends when we could have Foals, the 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo

[CaledonianGonzo]

5 minutes ago, american idiot said:

Both Elton and McCartney have enormous timeless discographies that even teenagers will know and love. Madonna's music hasn't aged anywhere as gracefully. Yes, she'll draw a big crowd, but it's certainly not the "massive" draw some people in here think it is. Unlike Elton and McCartney, blowing most of the budget on a 65 year old Madonna would be (and likely is going to be) a big disappointment to virtually everyone under the age of 40. Pair that next to Dua and Coldplay it just feels like a bunch of big names without much substance.

Only if you think pop music lacks substance.

And not sure why Madge only appeals to people over 40 but Macca and Reg don't.

[Wooderson]

7 minutes ago, american idiot said:

Both Elton and McCartney have enormous timeless discographies that even teenagers will know and love. Madonna's music hasn't aged anywhere as gracefully. Yes, she'll draw a big crowd, but it's certainly not the "massive" draw some people in here think it is. Unlike Elton and McCartney, blowing most of the budget on a 65 year old Madonna would be (and likely is going to be) a big disappointment to virtually everyone under the age of 40. Pair that next to Dua and Coldplay it just feels like a bunch of big names without much substance.

[homesick]

Madonna would without doubt be a massive draw
 

There's also a fair chance Madonna would put in a sub-par performance given she has fewer singalong anthems (in her current setlist) than the previous two legends and her act relies far more on show than them

Both of the above statements can be true

[CaledonianGonzo]

13 minutes ago, Colorblindjames said:

I would draw the line based on the artistic merit of their current musical output not age. 

So everyone's doing it off the back of their latest record and not their career as a whole?  Pyramid Headliners who only have 40 minutes of material, that sort of thing?

[CaledonianGonzo]

Just now, homesick said:

Madonna would without doubt be a massive draw
 

There's also a fair chance Madonna would put in a sub-par performance given she has fewer singalong anthems (in her current setlist) than the previous two legends and her act relies far more on show than them

Both of the above statements can be true

If she just was sitting on a stool stumming a guitar for 90 minutes you'd be right.  The fact that Madge's Show would be with a Show with a capital S would also likely mean people would still be entertained even during the lesser known numbers.

Besides, Macca's set did include a fair chunk of solo stuff and Wings tunes that didn't always hold the field enthralled.

[american idiot]

1 minute ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Only if you think pop music lacks substance.

And not sure why Madge only appeals to people over 40 but Macca and Reg don't.

Pop music is great, not sure what that has to do with it.

The simple fact is Madonna has no songs with over 400 million streams on Spotify. Elton has 7. Paul has 2 as a solo artist and another 6 with the Beatles. These are timeless classics, which Madonna does not have.

Madonna still doesn't even have as many monthly listeners as Elton despite having a song with one of the biggest artists on the planet in The Weeknd propping up her streaming numbers. Anyone who thinks she's going to be packing the Pyramid stage the way Elton did is in for a surprise. She's just not as culturally relevant, whether you like it or not. She might be the OG pop star, but her stardom has faded now that others have come along and improved on the foundation she laid for pop music. For most young people, Madonna's more known for being "that woman with bad plastic surgery" and being weird on Tik Tok than she is for her music.