Cliff Notes – Glastonbury headliner’s whopping fee revealed after controversial performance
- Charli XCX was paid £900,000 for her performance at Glastonbury, one of the highest fees for a headliner, despite criticism over her use of auto-tune.
- Her set attracted a full-capacity crowd, leading to security closing entry, while other headliners like Neil Young drew significantly smaller audiences.
- Despite backlash from some viewers, Charli defended her performance style, stating that art should be divisive and confrontational.
Glastonbury headliner’s whopping fee revealed after controversial performance
A superstar Glastonbury headliner was given one of the highest paychecks yet… Everyone’s favourite ‘Brat’ was paid to perform last weekend.
Pop star Charli XCX was paid an outstanding £900,000 for her iconic set at the festival this year—despite several viewers and festival-goers complaining about her overuse of auto-tune.
However, these complaints did not affect Charli’s crowd as she headlined The Other Stage last Saturday.
In fact, there were so many people desperate to see her that the crowd reached full capacity and security had to close the entry to the stage, with social media users predicting ahead of time that things could get ‘dangerous’.
Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts headlined the Pyramid Stage that night, sandwiched between Friday’s The 1975 and Sunday’s Olivia Rodrigo, which left many music lovers confused, as his crowd looked empty compared to Charli’s packed field.
Charli, 32, was reportedly one of the few acts to receive payment for their performance—the majority of performers are paid very little or are given free tickets to enjoy the weekend at Worthy Farm.
Charli had ‘boomers’ racing to Ofcom whilst she owned the stage in leather micro shorts.
The pop icon finally destroyed the ‘Brat’ flag after teasing its demise at previous festivals
For example, Sir Rod Stewart was reportedly left at a loss after his £180,000 paycheck did not come close to covering his £300,000 set, having performed in the coveted Legends Slot on Sunday evening.
And it seems Charli earned every penny of her six-figure fee, as many declared she had one of the best sets of the whole weekend, calling for her to be a Pyramid Stage headliner instead.
But while her slot was packed with party anthems, many fans were still left disappointed after rumours she would be bringing out a guest were not proven true.
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@sheephearder345 wrote: ‘Kinda surprised there was no special guest considering Shygirl, Lorde, Matt Healy and AG Cook are there. But understand how she may have wanted this to be HER moment.’
@fmkk1 on Reddit added: ‘I kind of thought we would get Lorde and Matty, especially after he shouted her out on their set. Oh well, she slays on her own.’
The public release of Charli’s substantial wage coincides with the hate from ‘Boomers’ she has received since her huge performance.
She knows how to put on a SHOW… Charli turned Worthy Farm into a ‘Brat’ rave.
Many listeners criticised the Von Dutch star for using too much auto-tune throughout her set.
@barring.gaffner took to Reddit to say: ‘Signing to auto tune with no band or performers doesn’t make you a fraud it just makes you unentertaining.’
@neocrosting agreed: ‘I didn’t enjoy her performance. There was very little singing – if any. Mostly, it was her stomping across the stage, shouting at the crowd to scream and a tiny bit of autotune. I switched to the Scissor Sisters and started dancing in my living room.’
The surge of backlash left the pop sensation no choice but to clap back in true Charli style.
The singer took to X with: ‘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
There was rain, there was dancing, there were extensions everywhere, and it was the best kind of chaos.
‘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.’
The pop princess has been very open about her use of auto-tune in her performances and admits she feels lost without it now, as she has incorporated it into her tunes for years.
Last year, Charli declared 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 autotune all the time.’
The Young girl from Essex reached new heights of fame last summer with her award-winning, culture-defining Brat record.
Charli received her flowers when the album received three Grammy awards for best dance/electronic album, best recording package, and best dance pop recording for her hit Von Dutch.