The announcement of Adele as Glastonbury's Saturday headliner in March was met with mixed reaction, with some, your correspondent included, somewhat skeptical about the choice.
Unexpected, or unusual Glastonbury headliners are almost always met with criticism, and in turn, they almost always prove that they belong at the top of the bill on one of the biggest stages in the world. Adele was no different.
Although her catalogue isn't filled with as many upbeat, happy songs as would be expected from your average festival headliner (something she admitted herself during her performance), she won the crowd over from the moment she walked on stage, with her hit-packed set and down to earth presence proving enough to command what must have been one of the biggest Glastonbury audiences ever.
Adele also seemed to be in awe of the size of the crowd, as most first-time Glasto headliners are, telling everyone that "this is mad", and swearing a lot, she added that the BBC had to issue a warning about her language and that she "bets Muse didn't get that".
The set kicked off with single Hello, followed by hits like Rumour Has It, her Bond theme Skyfall, as well as Bob Dylan cover, Make You Feel My Love, ending the show with Someone Like You. "This is the best moment of my life," she told the audience. "I didn't want to come on and now I don't want to go off."
Her performance has largely been hailed by music critics, with the Telegraph awarding her five stars and writing that she is "so unmediated and utterly authentic she can make every other pop star seem somehow artificial".
The Guardian gave her four out of five stars, calling her appearance as a headliner "a coup for the festival" and that "seems genuinely and rather touchingly overwhelmed".
The Independent writes that "it's impossible to not love somebody so authentic".
NME also praised the singer's performance, writing that "like Glastonbury itself, Adele's set is very much not all about the music".
Digital Spy writes that her set was "complete with burping, poo-talk and someone getting carried out on a stretcher. Not your average Adele gig then".
