Entertainment
Shania Twain defies ‘dreadful’ sound faults to fulfil ‘life-changing’ Glastonbury set-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro
We are, indeed, impressed, much.
Shania Twain brought the country sass to Glastonbury (Picture: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Man, Shania Twain sure had us all feeling like a woman as she rocked out on the Glastonbury Festival stage.
Following epic sets from Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and plenty more, the country queen had Worthy Farm in the palm of her hand as she delighted a crowd of thousands with all her hits.
Alas, viewers still had complaints, taking to social media to slam the sound quality as Shania, 58, powered through the technical challenges.
Follow the latest Glastonbury 2024 updates on Metro.co.uk’s live blog
Several branded the sound ‘dreadful’, while X user VSVPFERG shared an old video of Shania on stage, begging: ‘The sound needs sorting cause Shania Twain can SING’.
Claiming the set was ‘painful’ to listen to, Jayson_Davies wrote: ‘What the hell is going on with the sound at Glastonbury this year? They’ve done Shania Twain dirty here’.
User legallyxkiwi said Shania was being ‘slaughtered’ and DrSdeG said she looked ‘uncomfy’.
Shania kicked off her set with sound difficulties and vocal troubles (Picture: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Thankfully, the ever-professional music star made it through the set without a major hitch and proved herself to be a real trooper despite the sound engineers not being on her side.
Her set also marked a major moment in Shania’s career, given how she once feared that she would never perform again.
The You’re Still The One vocalist underwent open throat surgery in 2018.
Speaking to Graham Norton last year, Shania revealed that her voice had been disappearing for seven years, having no idea that Lyme disease – which she contracted from the bite of an infected tick in 2003 – could damage her vocal cords.
She now has a ‘very different’ and much more ‘raspy’ voice, but she’s ‘happy’ to have it back.
Visibly overwhelmed with emotion, Shania described her Glastonbury set as ‘life-changing’ as she was joined by Somerset revellers wearing cowboy hats.
The Canadian country singer performed from her back catalogue of bangers during the festival’s coveted Legends slot, beginning with hit track That Don’t Impress Me Much and ending with the upbeat tune Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
Shania first took to the stage wearing a ruffled pink ensemble which she then took off, revealing a black mini-dress.
Speaking to the audience, she revealed that she had explored the festival site ahead of her debut performance.
The singer powered through, performing all her hits (Picture: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
‘This really is a city. It’s a community,’ she said.
Later on, she told the crowd: ‘I find moments like this very life-changing.’
Shania is also set to perform a headline set at Hyde Park’s British Summer Time (BST) festival on July 7 with special guests The Corrs.
Fans such as Grace Carroll, 32, told the PA news agency how it meant so much to her as she has been ‘obsessed’ with Shania since she was nine years old.
The fundraising officer, from London, added: ‘She set the blueprint, you know, like, without Shania Twain, there’d be no Taylor Swift.
‘So she’s, yes, literally, an icon, perfect person to have on the Legend stage.’
Following Shania’s set, fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne played her hits including Sk8r Boi, Girlfriend and Complicated, telling the crowd that she has always ‘loved’ performing in the UK.
Elsewhere on Sunday, a barefoot Paloma Faith offered relationship advice to the Pyramid Stage audience, aimed at just the men.
Chris Martin and Coldplay wowed with their headline set to a crowd of 100,000 revellers on Saturday (Picture: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock)
Dua Lipa was one of two female headliners this year, including SZA (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)
Following Paloma leading the audience in a singalong of her track Sweatpants, from her latest album, The Glorification Of Sadness, which deals with the end of a relationship, the 42-year-old British singer said she had been experimenting with dating apps.
But she called that form of finding love the ‘Wild West’ as people ‘don’t really know how to connect anymore’.
She added: ‘Try and stay together, but it’s the resentment that’s the problem.
‘So all I’m asking, this is a plea, I’m talking about (heterosexual) men, if you are married… and I just want you to notice that if a woman does the same action every single day, it means it needs doing, so don’t wait to ask to do it, just do it.’
Dressed in a tight pink-and-red dress, the star had struggled with a sore throat, leading to the cancellation of her Friday gig in Southampton’s Guildhall Square, but belted out all her hits at Glastonbury, using her wide-ranging vocal skills.
She also appeared to be warned in her earpiece by the production team that she needed to stop talking and finish the slot.
Everyone’s favourite rock chick, Avril Lavigne, drew in a massive crowd (Picture: Jim Dyson/Redferns)
Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett headed to Paloma’s set earlier in the day and it was also reportedly watched by former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker.
Meanwhile, as the 2024 music extravaganza draws to a close, Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis spoke to the festival’s resident newspaper about her plans for next year.
She told Sunday’s edition of Glastonbury Free Press: ‘We’re taking a fallow year in 2026 to give the land a rest, and the festival before a fallow year is always a fun one to plan because you almost have to fit two years into one.
‘We’re already in talks with some acts for it. It’s exciting.’
American soul singer SZA will close out this year’s festival when she performs her headline slot at 9.30pm.
The 34-year-old, whose real name is Solana Rowe, is known for songs including PSA, Snooze, All The Stars, and Shirt.
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