Becky Hill has responded after being booed during a surprise set of new music at TRNSMT Festival, saying she is “not a jukebox”.
The singer played a 30-minute set on the King Tut’s Stage at Glasgow Green on Friday (June 19), where she told fans she was using the slot to introduce “a brand new fucking era”.
Some fans booed after Hill told them: “I’m going to play you nothing but brand new music. I’ve got to a point that’s in every artist’s life where we have to let go of the tunes you lot know me for, and introduce you lot to a brand new fucking era.”
After the reaction from the crowd, Hill replied: “It’s alright, you’ve got plenty of other artists to see here.”
She has now responded to the reaction in a video posted to Instagram, in which she explained the situation from her point of view. “I wanted to bring a new and exclusive 30-minute set of brand new music to the festival crowd, unannounced” she said. “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.”
“I’d firstly like to thank the team behind TRNSMT for giving me that stage, and also the crowd of people who you probably wouldn’t have seen online who stayed and danced with me right until the very end.”
At the end of the set, she did play ‘Afterglow’, her 2013 collaboration with Wilkinson, and her 2023 Chase & Status collab ‘Disconnect’.
“It was amazing to have such a captive audience who wanted to hear the new stuff too. I said on stage how difficult it is to transition into a new single and new music and new albums, and all this conversation online is exactly what I meant,” she added.
“I’m not a jukebox, I’m an artist, and the tickets for TRNSMT weren’t sold on my name being a part of the line-up. And 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. But 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,” she added, before thanking the fans who were at the show and urging people not to believe everything they read online.
Hill is preparing to release her third album ‘Rebecca’ on September 25 (pre-order here). Speaking to NME recently, she described the record as a more personal and “punk” new chapter, while saying its fiery single ‘More! More! More!’ has “definitely got something to say for itself”.
She also told NME that part of the record was inspired by the frustration of seeing working class people being “trodden on”, adding: “People are pushing themselves to the limit in fear that they aren’t going to be able to feed their family, keep the lights on or support themselves.”
Another new song from the album, ‘Daddy’s Range Rover’, was written in response to Jack Whitehall calling her “Wetherspoons Whitney” while hosting the BRIT Awards. Hill told NME: “How fucking dare [Whitehall] punch down.”
Whitehall later said he was “absolutely honoured” to have inspired a diss track, adding: “I’m surprised it’s taken this long.”
This weekend, Hill will be at the top of the bill for the new Everywhere At Once festival, which has been made by Music Venue Trust and The National Lottery, and will see artists perform at grassroots venues across the UK.
Joining Hill on the line-up is The Lathums and Tinie Tempah, and the event is being spearheaded by Music Venue Trust, Save Our Scene and Association of Independent Promoters. Visit here for tickets and more information.