Glastonbury 2024 viewers are accusing Dua Lipa of miming her headline set due to an issue with the BBC’s broadcast. The British pop star, who was the first headliner of this year’s festival, wowed the crowd with her Pyramid Stage performance on Friday night (June 28) at Worthy Farm. Dua Lipa’s set, which The Independent praised as “more than mere pop spectacle,” followed an acclaimed but overcrowded Sugababes performance and featured an eclectic lineup including Olivia Dean, Paul Heaton, and LCD Soundsystem.
As Dua Lipa performed hits like “Training Season,” “New Rules,” and “Levitating,” many viewers watching from home accused her of miming her vocals. These claims have been widely refuted. One viewer on Twitter remarked, “I might be wrong but it looks like Dua Lipa is miming on #Glastonbury just looks & sounds too polished to be live.” Another added, “Dua Lipa – either she’s miming or they’ve got the sound mix horribly wrong. It just sounds off.”
The reason behind these accusations appears to be a lip-sync delay that occurred during the BBC’s broadcast of the performance on some services. Viewers urged the BBC to “sort the sound out,” with one person noting that switching from BBC on Sky to Freeview fixed the issue. “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,” one viewer wrote.
Others suggested that the assumption of miming might also be due to Dua Lipa singing live over a track that featured pre-recorded backing vocals. One person stated, “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.” Another added, “It p***es me off that successful female musicians always get accused of miming. Happening to Dua Lipa tonight, happened to Lorde, happened to Billie Eilish. It’s bulls***. Some people just really are that damn good.”
Dua Lipa delivered an impressive Glastonbury headline set, despite the false claims of miming. The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment. This year’s other headline acts include Coldplay and SZA, who will perform on Saturday (June 29) and Sunday (June 30), respectively.
Some viewers who tuned into the BBC’s broadcast of Lipa’s Pyramid Stage set suggested that she might be lip-synching, with one Twitter user stating that the singer sounded “too polished to be live.” Others reported that Lipa’s voice was out of sync with the TV image, leading to the appearance of miming. However, it seems this was an illusion created by technical issues, with one Twitter user sharing that when they switched to Freeview, the issue was resolved.
One viewer tweeted, “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.” Another user questioned, “#Glastonbury is Dua Lipa miming???”
Meanwhile, some fans pointed out that the miming accusations were a testament to Lipa’s performance. One fan said the claims just show “how strong her vocals were,” and another commented, “she’s smashing it and everyone on stage look like they’re having the time of their lives.”
One Twitter user remarked, “If you’re Dua Lipa you’ve got to be pretty happy with yourself to wake up and see this many people claiming you’ve mimed your set. Shows how strong her vocals were. Great performance, banger after banger.” Another added, “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. #Glastonbury.”
NME gave Lipa’s Pyramid Stage slot a four-star review, calling it “an immersive visual spectacle.” Liberty Dunworth described the show as “packed to the brim with perfectly choreographed routines and impossibly-fast outfit changes.” During her set, the pop singer brought out Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, with whom she collaborated for her latest album ‘Radical Optimism.’ Together, they performed Tame Impala’s ‘The Less I Know The Better.’ Prior to Parker’s surprise appearance, Lipa performed a plethora of her biggest hits, including ‘Training Season,’ ‘One Kiss,’ ‘Illusion,’ ‘Break My Heart,’ ‘Levitating,’ and ‘These Walls’ among others.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing in the run-up to her performance, though. Lipa’s Glastonbury rehearsals were interrupted earlier this week when a TikToker reportedly broke into the Birmingham venue where she was practicing.
Coldplay is the next headliner to take to the Pyramid Stage tonight (June 29), with SZA following tomorrow (June 30). If you’re watching from home, you can find the full line-up and where to watch.
Source: The Independent, NME
