Lorde's day at All Points East is a next-gen pop coronation

It’s only 3pm and the site is already buzzing with fans trying to catch a glimpse of Nell Mescal and Ninajarichi. Two artists that could not be more estranged in styling, establishing the gamut of music on display today. Both united, however, by first carving a narrow aesthetic identity, and then making their universe expansive.

Conventionally, pop as a genre is seen as one that draws within the lines: neat, candied, just-under-three minute earworms manufactured in a lab somewhere between L.A. and Stockholm. It wouldn’t be unfair, necessarily, to hear the term and immediately think of an Ed Sheeran track from a decade ago, or a nostalgic cheesy tune befitting of a retro light-up dancefloor and one too many tequila shots.

Songs omnipresent in the culture like “Espresso” or “Shake It Off” are so algorithmically favourable that it took them just a few days before the general public complained of overexposure. Even “Say So” which offered a flicker of brilliance against the void of the pandemic had its flame dampened by the soul-destroying association of spinning its own TikTok dance.

The All Points East lineup, however, demands a new definition of the pop genre. These artists are laser-focussed on building whole worlds around the music they make, with the tracks themselves just one component of a much richer, textural landscape. The moodboard no longer just lives behind a body of work, it spills out into the clothes, the set design, the crowd. Albums have become eras, branding has become saturated, and artists have become auteurs.

“I went around some this afternoon and watched people and I was really struck by what this group of artists is doing,” Lorde reveals to the crowd during her headline set. “I felt so honoured to be a part of it.”

“This group of artists you’ve seen today are trying to imagine a new world. It’s like they’re trying to find new ways to live, new ways to see, I really felt that.” Indeed, the undercard is so extraordinary that the major complaint arising from festivalgoers is that there is no time to schedule in dinner whilst running between the stages to catch as many of them as possible.

On just the East Stage alone, Hackney’s own Rose Gray hailed her “homecoming” show, levelling up her warehouse-ready hits with a constant reverence to the place where they’ve been birthed. As she’s gearing up towards a new album, her slew of tracks are so imbued with specific details of East London that it’s hard for the crowd to not feel a part of her geographical identity.

Audrey Hobert then delivered her first UK festival set with a theatrical level of kitsch, emphasising the infectious pull of her awkward and campy persona on debut album Who’s The Clown?. Taking to the stage with a fake nose to sing “I Like To Touch People”, the performance included taking off her comically long coat to reveal the exact same coat underneath, and striking poses on a mini trampoline to the opening beats of “Sue Me”, a clear extension of her strange and meticulously constructed world.

As the second billing, Zara Larsson then undoubtedly stole the show bringing her Midnight Sun era to the main stage. She thanked the crowd for dressing in their droves in the bright yellows, pinks, and blues that have become synonymous with her album, and the park did seem to get a few degrees hotter as golden hour rained sunbeams on stage for the duration of her set.

Audience participation has become a vital heartbeat to modern day shows — creating that ephemeral virality, making people feel a sense of collective authorship towards a body of work, and giving each show on a long tour schedule its own individual identity. The “Lush Life” dance has become a leading example of this, bringing someone in the crowd on stage to get a personalised T-shirt and perform alongside Larsson. It was surprisingly emotional watching today’s lucky festivalgoer nail the choreography.

“You guys are watching herstory being made! Because something that has never happened before is happening right now”, Larsson teases the crowd before bringing out PinkPantheress to perform “Stateside” together for the first time. It may not have gone very far in satiating the festivalgoers who were unable to get into the overcapacity North Arena for PinkPantheress’ subsequent set, the final one from her Fancy That era, but the performance was a true stand out.

This collaboration has become something of a thesis statement for modern pop music. Two singers who have reached new heights by claiming a clear visual persona, PinkPantheress in her tartan, and Zara in her glittery neons. The remix doesn’t merely extend the song, but the whole cultural universe between the artists as two pop ecosystems collide.

By the time the sun has passed the smoky horizon, festivalgoers have already witnessed a very special day of pop music being performed at its peak. “I think this is literally the best line up I’ve ever been a part of, it’s crazy,” Lorde concurs. “I feel so inspired by all of these artists and they make me wake the fuck up.”

Lorde has always seen music as a powerful driver of togetherness. With a catalogue of songs from the thumping “Green Light” and “Supercut” to the emancipating “Oceanic Feeling” and “Shapeshifter”, her ability to rouse choruses of people to embrace a collective release has been a career-long feature of her artistry. Closing the day screaming the bittersweet bridge of “Ribs” with loved ones is an immediately canon experience.

During the show she slinks between lightboxes, laserbeams, and a water fountain all seeking to underscore the themes of transparency, disorientation, and self re-invention enwrapped in her 2025 album, Virgin. She releases a stadium-sized banner declaring “I DON’T BELONG TO ANYONE” whilst singing “David”, which covers fans in the pit and gives them the opportunity to feel a physical part of the show. And at its most corporeal, she projects her younger self onto her torso during “Liability”, reflecting on her time in the spotlight whilst musing “you’re all going to watch me disappear into the sun.”

Lorde is perhaps the best choice to preside over this coronation of the next generation of pop artists. A decade ago she was referred to as the “future of music” by David Bowie. It feels fitting, then, that she now stands at the very centre of a new generation of artists going on to build that future alongside her.