Glastonbury headliner's whopping fee after controversial performance
Charli XCX pocketed a jaw-dropping £900,000 for her explosive and divisive Glastonbury set, making her the festival's highest-paid performer ever.
The Essex -born pop star brought her Brat era to Worthy Farm on Saturday night, headlining The Other Stage and drawing such a huge crowd security had to shut entry to the field. Fans packed in to hear her party anthems, but her performance sparked fierce debate online, with many slamming her for 'overusing' auto-tune.
One TikTok user fumed: 'Lip syncing to a backing track with auto tune… sad to see this sh*te at Glasto.'
But Charli wasn't having any of it, firing back with a sassy clapback: 'Baby! You can't lip sync with autotune! Think about that for a second…'
She later doubled down on X (formerly Twitter), writing: 'Really enjoying these boomer vibe comments on my Glastonbury performance. It's super fascinating to me.'
'Like the idea that singing with deliberate autotune makes you a fraud or that not having a traditional band suddenly means you must not be a 'real artist' is like, the most boring take ever. Yawn, sorry just fell asleep xx.'
She added: 'But to be honest… I enjoy the discourse. The best art is divisive and confrontational and often evolves into a truly interesting culture rather than being like kind of ok, easily understood and sort of forgettable.'
Plenty of fans defended the pop princess, insisting her auto-tuned sound has been her signature for years – and she's never made any secret of it, even admitting she feels 'lost' performing without it now.
Last year, she confessed on The Tape Notes podcast: 'In my early work, I could sing in tune, but now I think I've gotten so lazy because I sing with auto-tune all the time.'
Her staggering payday also sparked shock, as it surpassed previous headline fees. Sir Elton John reportedly earned £250,000 for his 2023 Pyramid Stage set, with Sir Paul McCartney and Coldplay each taking home £200,000. Festival bosses had long insisted they'd never pay more than £500k for a headliner – but clearly made an exception for Charli.
Sir Rod Stewart, meanwhile, reportedly performed at a loss this year after being paid £180,000 for his coveted Legends Slot on Sunday well short of the £300,000 it cost to stage his set.
Charli's controversial yet triumphant Brat era has cemented her status as one of pop's most talked-about stars. The culture-defining album won her three Grammys earlier this year - Best Dance/Electronic Album, Best Recording Package, and Best Dance Pop Recording for her hit Von Dutch.
While Charli was one of the few acts to command a proper paycheck - many Glasto performers are simply given free tickets to enjoy the weekend, some fans were still left underwhelmed she didn't bring out a surprise guest as rumoured. Still, many declared her performance one of the best of the weekend and called for her to headline the Pyramid Stage next time.
Her staggering payday comes as the singer continues to face a wave of 'boomer' backlash online over her style and sound - judging by Saturday's packed-out field, fans loved everything about her performance
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