R.E.M. Tops the List of Most Watched Glastonbury Festival Performances of All Time
Other acts to make the top ten include grime star Dave, pop superstar Beyoncé and electro-pop duo Pet Shop Boys.
SeatPick, the world’s largest ticket search engine, has revealed the most watched Glastonbury Festival performances of all time ahead of the 2024 edition of the much-loved festival that kicks off this weekend.
The company determined the 50 most beloved performances based on the number of views each artist or band has for a song performed at the festival on YouTube, with all data up to date as of today, Wednesday, June 26.
Topping the list is recent Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee R.E.M., whose electrifying live version of ‘Everybody Hurts’ at Glasto 2003 has over 65 million views. A huge hit across the globe when first released in 1993, ‘Everybody Hurts’ was called “phenomenal” by Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters in Word Magazine. R.E.M. also have a second song in the top 50, with their classic track ‘Losing My Religion’ coming in at #44 with 5 million views.
UK rapper Dave’s viral 2019 performance of ‘Thiago Silva’ took out the second spot. The magic moment features a fan called Alex rapping along with Dave and has amassed a whopping 40 million YouTube views. Similar to R.E.M., Dave appears in the top 50 twice, with his live rendition of ‘Sprinter’ with fellow rap star Central Cee taking out the 38th spot with 5.7 million views.
Beyoncé made it to #3 with her 2011 performance of ‘Single Ladies’, which has amassed an impressive 34 million views on YouTube. Coming in fourth place is Anne Marie’s 2019 performance of ‘2022’ with 32 million views and rounding out the top five is Miley Cyrus’ global smash hit ‘Wrecking Ball’, with the YouTube clip garnering over 26 million views.
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The top ten also features The Killers’ performance of ‘Mr Brightside’ (20 million views) at Glasto 2019, The Pet Shop Boys’ incredible showcase of hit ‘It’s a Sin’ (19 million views) from the 2022 festival, Ellie Goulding entertaining the masses with ‘Burn’ (17 million views) at the 2019 event and two Coldplay performances – ‘The Scientist’ (19 million views) from their appearance at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival and their energetic cover of the Bee Gees ‘Stayin’ Alive’ (17 million views) featuring Barry Gibb at Glasto 2016.
Other notable Glastonbury Festival performances to make the list include The Rolling Stones shaking things up with ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction’ (17 million views) in 2013, The Verve getting everyone in the crowd singing along to ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ (12 million views) in 2008, Amy Winehouse showcasing her natural talent singing ‘Back to Black’ (9 million views) in 2008 and Underworld causing complete chaos with their 2016 performance of ‘Born Slippery’ (4.8 million views).
If reading about these iconic performances is leaving you feeling a little bummed about missing all the action from this year’s festival, get ready to put a smile on that dial, as Glastonbury is streaming Coldplay and Dua Lipa’s headline sets via the BBC. This is the first time streams will be available for a global audience.
Dua Lipa’s headline set on Friday, June 28 will be broadcast from 1:30-3:15am local time on Saturday, June 29 and Coldplay’s performance on Saturday, June 29 will be broadcast live from 1:15-3:15am local time on Sunday, June 30.
For full streaming details visit the BBC website. You can find the full list of the top 50 most watched Glastonbury Festival performances here.
