Olivia Rodrigo has confessed she suffered a moment of pure panic ahead of her 2025 Glastonbury headline performance – after her friends informed her the field was nowhere near full just five minutes before she was due to begin.
Speaking on Apple Music’s The Zane Lowe Show, the 23-year-old singer recalled the nerve-jangling moment her friends alerted her to the situation.
She began: “Honestly. Oh, God, Glastonbury was the best.”
Olivia went on to recall: “My friends were up there and they were really nervous because five minutes before I went on, the field wasn’t a quarter of the way full because everyone was coming from another thing.
“And they were all like, ‘Oh, my God, no one came to see Olivia’s Glastonbury set.’ Everyone was freaking out.”
The Cure singer said the empty space wasn’t a reflection of interest – just the reality of festival logistics, with crowds filtering in from other stages. But in the moment, the sight was “terrifying”.
Despite the initial shock, the singer said the night quickly transformed into one of the most meaningful moments of her career.
She said: “Honestly, oh, God, it was such a beautiful experience. It was one of the best experiences of my life career-wise.”
She joked about avoiding capturing the sparse crowd on camera.
She laughed: “Kill the drone shot. Kill the drone shot.”
Once the audience finally surged in, Olivia said the atmosphere became “incredible”, and performing alongside The Cure’s Robert Smith made the night even more surreal.
She said: “Just personally too, it was a huge dream of mine to have done that and have done it surrounded with a bunch of people that I love and with Robert, who I love. Yeah, I love it.”
Reflecting on the secret panic she carried onto the stage, she laughed: “I could f*** up every lyric and if I bring Robert, it’ll be awesome.”
Watch the full episode on the Apple Music YouTube channel or anytime on demand with an Apple Music subscription.
