Becky Hill has spoken out after being booed by some audience members during a surprise set at TRNSMT festival in Glasgow. The singer, 32, addressed the incident in a video posted to Instagram, calling the experience 'not nice' but defending her decision to perform entirely new, unreleased music.
What happened at TRNSMT
A TikTok video from the weekend showed sections of the crowd leaving while others booed when Hill revealed she would be playing a set of unreleased tracks. The booing occurred during her appearance as TRNSMT's secret act on the King Tut's stage on Friday. When she took the stage, Hill told fans she had kept her performance under wraps because she wanted to play a set of new music. The announcement did not go down well with the Glasgow crowd.
Hill's response
In an Instagram video, Hill shared a clip taken moments after she came off stage, saying: 'Getting booed is not nice. I haven't found a single one of these easy, which is really upsetting because I love this job. And that's not making me love it as much as I usually do.'
Speaking directly to camera, she continued: 'I've been told about the news articles and conversations happening online around my secret set on Friday. I wanted to bring a new and exclusive 30-minute set of brand new music to a festival crowd. Unannounced. And I thought it would be a great opportunity to play the new music I've been working so hard on and I personally love so much.'
Gratitude and artistic intent
Hill thanked TRNSMT organisers for the secret set stage and the crowd who stayed to the end. She closed her set with two of her biggest hits, Afterglow and Disconnect, prompting cheers from loyalists.
'It was amazing to have such a captive audience who wanted to hear the new stuff too,' she said. 'I said on stage how difficult it is to transition into a new single and new music and new albums. All this conversation online is exactly what I meant.'
Hill added: 'I'm not a jukebox. I'm an artist. The tickets to TRNSMT weren't sold on my name being a part of the line-up. I wanted to do something new and artistically driven. I don't really get that opportunity to do that in my career often at all.'
Looking ahead
Wrapping up the video, she promised her followers: 'Trust me, when my name is on the poster, I'll always sing the tunes that people know and love. I feel very grateful to have those records in my catalogue after 14 years of making them. But for me to be able to have a long career, I need to have new music. So, thank you to all the people who stayed and danced,' she said, signing off by saying she will see fans at future shows.
