Being an international pop sensation means that your audience reach is far and wide with a possibility of reaching millions. Halsey does not take this responsibility lightly, and she used her show on Sunday night as an opportunity to highlight some pressing issues facing women today.

With neon green hair and a black corset, she walked onto the Green Stage at 9:10 pm on Sunday night, warmly welcomed by a sea of excited fans. As an audience member watching her perform for the very first time, I quickly came to understand her impact on the music scene as the ground quite literally shook beneath my feet at the beginning of her set. Pyrotechnics were widely used throughout her performance, with flames of fire making for an impressive and unexpected introduction.

She opened with her song, “Nightmare”, a track that recounts struggle, yet reinstills a power back in the narratives of womanhood. Behind her, video clips of past Women’s Marches could be seen with signs reading “Abortion is healthcare”. “I know the world isn’t what we thought it would be,” she says, “but we’re still going to have a good time, right?”. When something needs to be said, Halsey does so with an edge and a voice capable of reverberating across a distance.

The setlist featured a well balanced choice of tracks across her many albums such as “Without Me”,“Colors”, and “You should be sad”, and included a bombshell cover of the 80s comeback hit, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” by Kate Bush. “To do this festival is my dream, so thank you for making that dream come alive tonight”, she excitedly mentions mid performance. Her passion and gratitude could be felt across the field, and the show concluded in power and a whole lot of confetti.