- Music
- 30 Aug 19
I'm sure the EP number crunchers will let us know tomorrow, but I'd wager that this is the biggest Friday night main stage crowd they've ever had. It's also one of the most diverse with loads of kids, their for once equally enthusiastic mums and dads, hip indie types and grizzled festival veterans all gathered to pay homage to the hottest and, by far and away, most interesting pop star on the planet. The "Billie, Billie, Billie!" chants are reaching neighbouring county annoying levels when Ms. Eilish, neon green hair bunched and sporting a surgical mask, baggy white sweatshirt and shorts, skips on (literally) and launches into a version of 'Bad Guy' that has everybody pogoing as furiously as she is.
'My Strange Addiction', with its shuddering 'Real Slim Shady'-esque beat, is funkiness personified while, at its singer's insistence, 'You Should See Me In A Crown' is accompanied by mass screaming.
'idontwannabeyouanymore' highlights the breathy, jazzy quality her voice has when she switches into love song mode.
'Copycat' comes with strict instructions to hunker down and then jump thirty feet into the air, which everybody, your humble correspondent included, accedes to.
"I like you guys," she coos. "The energy you have is so beautiful!"
'Bellyache' is further proof that the divine Ms. E can really sing. She's probably too busy enjoying the present to be thinking about the future, but this is a 17-year-old who can head off in any musical direction she wants.
The "Billie, Billie, Billie!" chants return after an impossibly gorgeous 'Ocean Eyes', segueing into a bout of "Olé, Olé, Olé"-ing, which leaves her looking genuinely gobsmacked.
"Thank you for giving a fuck about me, I'm part Irish, dude!" she says when she regains the power of speech.
'When The Party's Over' is all too much for one young girl who's caught on the big screen bawling her eyes out. I'm not far behind her...
The only song capable of topping that is 'Bury A Friend', a complete banger of a tune, which ends with Billie going walkabout in the pit, only leaving when every outstretched hand has been high-fived. This really was different level stuff.