Dua Lipa has hit back at cruel claims she mimed during her Glastonbury headline performance on Friday, after fans suggested she was ‘lip-syncing’.
The One Kiss singer, 28, and her troupe of leather-clad dancers descended on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm, Somerset on the first major day of the festival with the 200,000-strong crowd including A-listers such as Lewis Capaldi, Cara Delevingne and Anya Taylor-Joy.
However, some fans accused Dua of not singing live, while others came to the New Rules hitmaker’s defence, stating it is usual for popstars performing intense choreography to occasionally lip-sync during their sets.
It has now been revealed what went wrong with Dua’s set that made so many people think she was faking her show – and she has also fired back at the speculation.
Speaking to the MailOnline backstage at Glastonbury after her gig, Dua shrugged off the rumours and said three simple words: ‘I don’t mime.’
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It has also been reported that a simple sound issue was the reason for the problem, with a source explaining that she was hit with ‘bad luck’ as the broadcast on the BBC was hit with a sound delay.
The source added to The Sun: ‘Dua’s vocals were 100% live.
‘She had worked for years to that moment and would never dream of miming to her fans.’
The BBC said in a statement to Metro.co.uk: ‘This year, we are bringing audiences extensive and world class music coverage from Glastonbury across the weekend, including over 90 hours of live performance from the five main stages on BBC iPlayer, which are broadcast as they happen, and 90 hours of radio broadcasts live from the festival, plus more on TV and BBC Sounds.’
@Therasa78 was among those who claimed Dua was relying on pre-recorded backing vocals, tweeting: ‘I’m convinced Dua Lipa is miming.’
Agreeing, @jameshutch78 added: ‘I might be wrong but it looks like Dua Lipa is miming on #Glastonbury just looks & sounds too polished to be live. And you can’t dance like that & remain pitch perfect. Kinda defeats the idea of the festival if she is miming #DuaLipa.’
Sharing their theory, @MapleFiltered said: ‘The Dua Lipa miming accusations may not be helped by the broadcast. BBC on Sky appears to have lip-sync issues. Just switched back to Freeview and that’s gone. Still not convinced due to totally different mic sound for song v talking but hey-ho!’
Many others, though, were in Dua’s corner and rushed to defend the singer, including @txmhussxy who weighed in: ‘People already accusing Dua Lipa of miming clearly they’ve never seen actual talent that girls mic is ON.’
@pauljamesoliver said: ‘@DUALIPA sounds so good! The mic is on. Love the vibe and staging/looks/dancing.’
Hitting back at the cruel claims, @alistairbrs commented: ‘No Dua Lipa is not miming. Majority of the main vocal parts are quite clearly live. She’s smashing it and everyone on stage look like they’re having the time of their lives.’
After storming the stage with latest single Training Season, Dua went on to perform a host of hits including One Kiss, Levitating and Break My Heart before nipping off for a quick costume change.
She briefly greeted the audience by dropping her first F-bomb of the night, saying: ‘Glastonbury, what the f**k?’
Dua then took a few minutes to deliver an emotional speech, recalling how she used to perform to a crowd of 10 before her career propelled her to global stardom.
‘Glastonbury, I kept thinking about this moment and thinking about what it was gonna feel like when I took to this stage. It’s a lot isn’t it?’ she said.
Sharing how she manifested arguably the biggest show of her career so far, the pop star added: ‘Oh man, this is a massive dream come true for me. I have written this moment down, I have dreamt of it, I’ve wished for it, I’ve worked for it. It feels so good to be up here with you guys.
‘When I wrote it down I was very specific. I wrote that I want to headline the Pyramid Stage on Friday night so that I can party for the next two nights on the best place on Earth.’
It was then time to introduce the first surprise guest of the night, with Tame Impala star Kevin Parker joining her for a performance of the group’s song The Less I Know The Better.
At one point, Parker appeared to have problems with his microphone, which Dua Lipa laughed off.
However, it didn’t go amiss with viewers, watching across the BBC, who picked up on this sound issue and complained about several others.
@pecos_pest_ wrote on X: ‘Can someone please turn Dua Lipa’s mic up? Can hardly hear her! Every year the sound is terrible!’
Sneakyget was also struggling to hear: ‘Some volume on #DuaLipa’s mic would help.’
@pauljamesoliver said: ‘@DUALIPA sounds so good! The mic is on. Love the vibe and staging/looks/dancing.’
Hitting back, @alistairbrs commented: ‘No Dua Lipa is not miming. Majority of the main vocal parts are quite clearly live. She’s smashing it and everyone on stage look like they’re having the time of their lives.’
Regardless, Dua overall smashed her performance which was rounded off with a whole bevy of her biggest songs including New Rules, Pretty Please, Physical and Houdini.
It was certainly a robust first day of Glastonbury 2024 with the Sugababes causing sheer chaos with thousands of fans trying to cram the West Holts stage to see them perform their catalogue of pop classics.
Pop icon Lulu, 75, also hit the stage and shared an adorable moment with her grandson who she brought out, while conceptual artist Marina Abramović managed to make the Pyramid Stage crowd silent for a whole seven minutes in what initially seemed like an impossible challenge.
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