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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Lisa McLoughlin

SZA fires back at her Glastonbury headline set critics with 'bravery' tweet

SZA posted a tweet about “bravery” in an apparent attack on critics of her headline set at Glastonbury 2024.

The Kill Bill singer, 34, headlined the Pyramid Stage, closing the Worthy Farm festival on Sunday night in spectacular fashion.

Unfortunately, SZA encountered technical issues during her set, making her the latest performer to experience such problems on stage.

While some fans defended the American singer, others were harsh in their comments, questioning her suitability as a headliner.

Hours after her performance, the Broken Clocks singer addressed the backlash in a tweet.

The star on the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night (PA)

When SZA finally took the stage, it was evident something was off, as the US star started 15 minutes late. She then performed hits like Love Galore, following her headline show at BST Hyde Park in London the previous day.

Fans quickly took to social media, expressing frustration over the technical issues.

She penned on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The bravery required to be alive in public is remarkable. S/o everybody doing that s**t.”

One fan penned on X: “Justice for sza!! what have glastonbury done to her mic to make her vocals sound this way, this is excruciating.”

“It’s genuinely impossible to understand anything Sza is singing with these sound issues,” another commented.

A third declared: “SZA sounded perfect yesterday at Hyde park it’s insane the most renowned music festival on earth can’t get the sound right”

Others complained that it was "impossible" to understand her, claiming that SZA sounded like she was singing "underwater."

Fortunately, when SZA left the stage for a costume change, the technical issues seemed to be resolved, and she returned with a new mic.

The likes of Shania Twain – who played the Legends slot earlier on Sunday – and Cyndi Lauper were also caught up in the nightmare sound problems, leaving both revellers in Somerset and viewers at home frustrated.

Meanwhile artists like Camila Cabello and Coldplay's Chris Martin faced accusations of miming their sets, while Dua Lipa denied using a backing track, clarifying the situation after her headline performance on Friday.

After dealing with harsh criticism, the Houdini singer responded succinctly when speaking to MailOnline backstage at Glastonbury, simply stating, “I don’t mime.”

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