American singer-songwriter SZA says “no matter” what she did it would not have been enough for Glastonbury.
The star, whose real name is Solana Rowe, appeared to have some sound issues during her headlining of the festival at Worthy Farm, Somerset, with fans watching at home complaining that her vocals appeared distorted or muffled.
Her performance was highly theatrical, and showcased her hits including Love Galore, F2F, I Hate U and Kiss Me More, her collaboration with Doja Cat, with festivalgoers singing along, and was well received by many music critics.
As she made the cover of British Vogue, SZA told the publication: “I just felt like nothing I could do would be enough for Glastonbury, no matter what I did.
“It scared me. I was like, well, I wish I wasn’t doing it, but I couldn’t walk away from it…”
She added that she wanted to “be the second black woman in history, but then it’s such a f****** tall order”.
“It’s like, no matter what you do here, you will be subject to criticism,” SZA said. “Because of who you are. But that’s life. That’s life, you know?”
Beyonce previously headlined Glastonbury as a solo artist in 2011, and Skin did with her rock band Skunk Anansie in 1999.
SZA’s set also featured her climbing up a large fallen tree trunk and sitting on an elevated platform once she got up, as well as brandishing two machetes during her rendition of her track Kill Bill, a reference to the Quentin Tarantino film of the same name starring Uma Thurman.
She also told the magazine it was difficult to properly see people in the thousands crowded near the stage at night, and that made her feel “freaked out” as well as “scared”, and like she was “drowning on stage” as well as “failing”.
SZA added that she did relax after recalling a sign from Caribbean spiritual practice Santeria, which grew out of the Yoruba religion of West Africa.
SZA said: “It was a reminder that your guardians are with you. Everyone’s here. Even beyond. Keep going.”
The four-time Grammy winner also said that she “grapples” with being famous “every day”, and considers whether she should stay in the music industry.
“Maybe I’m just not meant to be famous – I’m crashing and burning and behaving erratically,” SZA added.
“It’s not for me because I have so much anxiety. But why would God put me in this position if I wasn’t supposed to be doing this? So I just keep trying to rise to the occasion. But I’m also just like, ‘Please, the occasion is beating my ass’.”
This year was the first to feature two female headliners on the Pyramid Stage, with Dua Lipa on Friday and SZA on Sunday.
For the full feature go to vogue.co.uk/article/sza-british-vogue-interview or pick up the magazine from November 19.
