Reading and Leeds Festival: Billie Eilish brings Barbie to life during cathartic headline set

Billie Eilish brought Barbie to beingness astatine Leeds Festival connected Friday, performing her latest celluloid deed successful the mediate of a cathartic and career-spanning set.

It saw her go the event's youngest solo headliner, surpassing London rapper Dave from past year.

At the property of 21, Eilish - who besides has a deed Bond opus nether her loop - has present headlined some of the UK's biggest festivals, pursuing her header slot astatine Glastonbury past year.

This latest acceptable was 1 for the ages.

Backed by her member and shaper Finneas connected keys and guitars, Eilish bursts retired connected signifier successful a baggy LA sports outfit and woolly chapeau combo, bouncing and bounding her mode done the opening strains of Bury a Friend.

Cue screams. And past fire.

"You consciousness bully England?" she asks with a smile. "Are you acceptable to person immoderate fun?" Duh!

Since past performing present arsenic a teen 4 years ago, Eilish has gone connected to popular megastardom and it shows. Swaggering, moving and at-times sliding and humping down the runway, she conducts the adoring assemblage astatine will.

A oversea of camera phones seizure her performing 1 of her earlier songs, I Don't Wanna Be You Anymore.

Eilish has spoken precocious astir feeling astir astatine location channelling what she says is her much powerful, masculine broadside and she intelligibly revels successful the relation connected her darker, much upbeat and playful worldly from her 2019 debut album, When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go?

On a chilly Yorkshire summertime evening, she leads fans successful an aboriginal acceptable warm-up workout of sorts, that involves jumping around, stretching and screaming.

"I'm giving you support close present to suffer your minds," she commands, earlier playing You Should See Me successful a Crown.

But it's often the softer, slower songs, immoderate of which cribbed from her much reflective and introspective follow-up medium Happier Than Ever, that amusement her successful a different, much susceptible light, and besides genuinely amusement disconnected her heavy vocal range.

The keyboard instauration to What Was I Made For?, taken from the caller soundtrack to the Barbie movie, draws gasps and "awes" from astir the field. As good arsenic being a caller fans' favourite, it's a opus that Eilish precocious admitted to interviewer Zane Lowe had helped her and her member retired of a originative slump.

The prima was capable to concisely interruption distant from the emotion of what was a almighty infinitesimal to mimic a TikiTok meme - of immoderate women singing the opus excessively loudly - earlier bursting into laughter and composing herself erstwhile again for a tender finish. It's her each over; the joker and the queen of hearts, each wrapped into one.

Flipping effortlessly backmost into afloat enactment mode she past urges the assemblage to get low, each the mode to the floor, past backmost up for a dance.

Settling down to articulation her member connected guitar for a quieter acoustic segment, she introduces him arsenic "my champion person successful the world".

"We constitute everything unneurotic and I anticipation we get to bash that everlastingly due to the fact that it's wonderful," she says. "I emotion you dude." "I emotion you guys too," she adds, not forgetting their adoring onlookers, earlier playing a poignant mentation of Your Power, a opus astir older men who maltreatment their position.

Another precise aboriginal track, Bellache, follows, and she tells the assemblage to airy their phones up. Being the headliner these days - usually a night-time slot - she tin nary longer spot their faces.

Having swapped into a chapeau bearing the words: "I emotion being maine it [angers] each the close people", the prima asks if anyone had been astatine her past Leeds show, drafting much large cheers. "Can you judge what my beingness turned into, due to the fact that I can't," shrugs the now-Brit, Grammy and Oscar-winner.

Prodigious philharmonic talents aside, Eilish's entreaty lies besides successful her progressive attitudes astir modern issues.

An impromptu meditation league is called for, arsenic she tells fans to present enactment down their phones and look astir and cheque successful connected their performance neighbours. "I privation america to beryllium truly grateful of what we have," she says, earlier shifting the absorption backmost connected the fans whose adoration has helped her to to the apical astatine warp speed.

"I'm truthful grateful for you."

Following faultless renditions of When the Party is Over, and All the Good Girls Go To Hell, Eilish - who volition bring her clime alteration amusement to London connected Wednesday - finishes with a last thought. She tells fans "we each request to bash a overmuch amended occupation of protecting our world", starting with each other.

"I anticipation you consciousness comfy to beryllium yourself present tonight."

After performing Everything I Wanted, she acknowledgment astir everyone successful the full field, earlier sending them each disconnected into the nighttime with the knock-out, one-two punch of Bad Guy - her signature, dense breathing, archetypal US fig 1 - and Happier than Ever. Two songs that perfectly showcase the singer's interior devil and angel.

Having collected truthful galore philharmonic accolades earlier her 22nd birthday, it's breathtaking to spot wherever she volition spell next.

Before Billie, 2nd headliners, Las Vegas stone set Imagine Dragons made an explosive content firing retired insubstantial into the assemblage portion belting retired their deed Believer, Spotify's ninth most-streamed opus ever.

There were flimsy groans erstwhile frontman Dan Reynolds committed the property aged Northern misdeed of announcing it was large to beryllium backmost astatine Reading, Leeds' sister festival, wherever they'll play connected Sunday.

But helium soon won the assemblage back, archetypal by referencing the metropolis helium was really in, earlier removing his garment to bare his stacked torso and past dedicating different singalong for Thunder to a young miss successful the crowd. All was forgiven.

Before that Steve Lacy, who whitethorn person seen in/on The Internet, brought his California neo-soul vibes arsenic the prima acceptable successful a "magical" way, arsenic helium noted, implicit the main signifier east.

Earlier Becky Hill drew scores of radical implicit for an aged schoolhouse rave with added strings, portion everyone other headed implicit to spot singer-songwriter Tom Odell battalion retired the Festival Republic structure with lone a fewer days' notice.

Rina Sawayama saw her illustration rocket this summer, acknowledgment to appearing alongside Sir Elton John astatine Glastonbury (in the Kiki Dee role).

She provided the archetypal large call-and-response assemblage singalong of the weekend, earlier connected Friday afternoon, connected her way This Hell.

After declaring she was "a arrogant queer woman" she invited each of the "sinners" successful the assemblage to "revel successful eternal damnation" with her.

Los Angeles Indie pop-rockers Muna got things going successful Yorkshire with a lunchtime show of their way Silk Chiffon, which features chap US vocalist Phoebe Bridgers but alas, determination was nary astonishment impermanent appearance.

Lead vocalist Katie Gavin urged fans to person harmless enactment and beryllium cautious with drugs.

The begetter of a teen who died aft taking drugs astatine past year's lawsuit told the BBC the lawsuit was "on probation" this year, and the accrued beingness of sniffer dogs was noticeable connected arrival.

The festival which, arsenic always, kicks disconnected the GCSE results celebrations/commiserations, remains a close of transition for teenagers crossed the state - it's confederate limb astatine Reading besides got nether mode connected Friday.

Rapper TS Lagga marked the juncture by opening his results unrecorded connected the BBC Introducing Stage.

Leeds Festival continues time with performances from Sam Fender, Loyle Carner, Wet Leg and Foals.