P!NK, real name Alecia Beth Moore Hart, wowed the 65,000+-strong crowd at Hyde Park with her jam-packed catalogue of hits from her 23-year career. Sling-shotting herself over the stage in a glittery pink leotard, she started the performance with Get The Party Started, before launching into the likes of Raise Your Glass, Who Knew? and Just Like A Pill.
Meanwhile, the dazzling Summer Carnival tour set featured a glistening silver palm tree, together with a central walkway and four cranes rigged up for P!NK’s aerial acrobatics.
“How the hell is everybody doing tonight,” she asked the electric crowd. Thank you for coming to play with us… You guys ready to sweat?
“I feel so honoured to be here. What was it, like, 15 years when I was last here at Hyde Park? You’re all so beautiful…”
The What About Us singer proceeded to stun the crowd with her soulful voice, while also pulling off several aerial stunts. After spinning through the air during the beautiful Turbulence, P!NK invited daughter Willow Sage Hart on stage for Cover Me In Sunshine and performed two sensational covers. Transforming her outfit into a sparkling baby pink gown, she sang Make You Feel My Love (originally by Bob Dylan and covered by Adele) and, later, No Ordinary Love (originally by Sade). She even bore witness to an engagement in the audience during the show – while also being showered with gifts – her favourite items – from fans in the audience, such as packets of Maltesers, a pair of Crocs shaped as frogs and a large wheel of “fragrant” cheese.
The absolutely electric set ended with an array of fireworks and P!NK flying through the air, attached to bungee ropes, to So What?
Gwen Stefani was second on the billing for the Great Oak Stage tonight. The star’s hitlist kicked off with a bang with Sweet Escape and featured other great solo and No Doubt classics such as What You Waiting For, Hollaback Girl and Hey Baby.
Stefani was beaming on stage, revealing that it had been 16 years since she last performed in London. “Thank you P!NK for letting me come on stage. Thank you for listening to my music for all these years. I’ve not played London for 16 years, so thank you for having me back.”
The audience was left cheering when the Just A Girl songstress was joined on stage by American rapper and singer, Eve, for Rich Girl and Let Me Blow Ya Mind.
Earlier in the afternoon, BRIT Award winner Sam Ryder – who broke onto the music scene in 2020 after becoming a musical success on TikTok – impressed the waiting crowd with songs including Space Man, a cover of Taylor Swift’s We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and the powerful Fought & Lost. “It’s a song about never giving up, a song for the near misses… this is a song for everyone out there,” he told his fans.
Ryder’s debut album ‘There’s Nothing but Space Man!’ topped the British charts in December 2022. He has since become a household name across the nation, collaborating with high-profile artists from Brian May to Hannah Waddingham.
The day kicked off on the Hard Rock presents Rainbow Stage with British singer-songwriter, Mae Stephens. Warming up the excited crowd with a variety of catchy choruses, funky grooves and genuine excitement, the 19-year old emanated confidence on stage. She was followed by Maddie Zahm, who was playing London for the first time, and Brighton-born Sam Tompkins, who shot to fame after Justin Bieber revealed he was a fan. Meanwhile, 19-year-old, GAYLE, opened as the first act on the Great Oak Stage for the day. The alt-rock singer from Texas warmed up the vibrant Hyde Park audience with tracks including her 2021 hit, ABCDEFU.
Friday evening saw BST Hyde Park open its doors with All Things Orchestral, the new summer event bringing classical back for all. Part of the event’s Open House midweek programme and presented by Myleene Klass, featuring Alfie Boe, performed by the world famous Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and conducted by Michael England, fans were taken on a summer night’s journey through classical music both traditional and modern including the much loved soundtracks of Harry Potter, The Witches of Eastwick and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Myleene Klass welcomed viewers with a few unlikely facts about the world-famous Orchestra, saying: “The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra goes all over the world, from Athens to Vietnam, from Gibraltar to Thailand. As well as classical music, [they] perform everything from film music to video games scores. They’ve even performed with holograms, a royal person, and Maria Callas. Now we’re all here in person today.
“You’re probably wondering why we’ve got gazebos… we’re not having an afternoon tea, some of the instruments are very expensive… One of those violins, if they get too hot, they start melting and it’s worth over £300,000.”
Later, British tenor Alfie Boe quipped, “[I’m] loving these tents. I’ve never played Homebase before…”
Once again, it has been a stunning opening day of music at this year’s American Express presents BST Hyde Park.