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“Hats off to you, Glastonbury,” says Shania Twain, looking out at a sea of ​​people – many of whom, ironically, are wearing cowboy hats.

“I feel and see your support. Thank you for allowing me to be here.”

Few artists have ever dedicated themselves so much to the so-called Legends Slot at Glastonbury.

The star has been talking about her appearance for months.

Not only did she share her ambition to travel to the festival on horseback, she also convinced Great Western Railways to rename some of their rolling stock “Shania Trains.”

On Saturday, she warmed up with a tour of Worthy Farm (“it’s a whole town,” she marveled) and even asked Friday night’s headliner, Dua Lipa, for some tips.

Unfortunately, the festival put a stop to her plan to bring a stallion to the Pyramid Stage, but she still arrived in style.

Two drag queens and six dancers led the 58-year-old onto the stage, holding up six colorful hobby horses.

Without wasting any time, she launched into one of her biggest hits: “That Don’t Impress Me Much”.

As the audience joined in with their parody of rocket scientists, Brad Pitt and men who own cars, the mood was electric.

Twain looked incredible in her rhinestone-encrusted cowboy hat, arm-length gloves and a black minidress accented by a flowing pink cape that she twirled with soulful abandon.

“It’s incredible because I can see everyone, everything, every flag,” she explained.

“I see a lot of cowboy hats and leopard print… and that’s really something special.”

After this fantastic start, the energy began to wane somewhat.

The next two songs, “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)” and “You Win My Love,” were not so familiar to the audience.

And like Cyndi Lauper on Saturday, Twain seemed irritated by her earpiece.

But as her voice warmed up, that unmistakable country twang came through loud and clear. Her throat sounded a little dry and scratchy at times (Glastonbury was really dusty this year), but the emotion was fully there.

Twain’s booking was a stroke of genius in a year that saw country music return to the charts with Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter,” Kacey Musgraves’ “Deeper Well” and Shaboozey’s irresistible “Bar Song (Tipsy).”

In the 1990s, Twain was one of the genre’s first “crossover” stars, combining Nashville’s narrative history with the bombastic power of stadium rock.

Her second album, The Woman In Me, was certified 12 times platinum. The follow-up, 1997’s Come On Over, sold over 40 million copies and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to powerful anthems such as Man! I Feel Like A Woman and the mega-ballad You’re Still The One.

The latter was an early highlight of her Glastonbury performance. Twain sat down with an acoustic guitar and asked the audience to sing the chorus with her.

“Usually my shows are at night and I can only see your reactions near the stage. But (today) I can see all of you, all the way back, to the tents,” she said.

“I can see you so well, but I also want to hear your answer.”

When she struck the chords, she was almost drowned out by the audience.

It was a scary moment.

Before the show, the 58-year-old said she was a little “overwhelmed” by the idea of ​​following in the footsteps of Dolly Parton, Diana Ross and Kenny Rogers and taking over the coveted slot on Legends on Sunday afternoon.

“They are all music heroes to me and they have had a huge impact on my own career, so it’s surreal to have been invited,” she told BBC News.

“It was explained to me that it was a real event, something that only happens once in a lifetime. Everyone always says, ‘Let me tell you about it. Let me tell you about my experience.'”

As the show progressed, Twain realized what this meant.

“I feel fucking great,” she screamed at one point. “You guys are country music fanatics.”

The crowd stretched to the back of the field, making it as big as Coldplay’s Saturday night crowd, but probably not bigger.

And while Tom Cruise and Stormzy watched Chris Martin’s performance, Twain got her own A-list cast, including model Cara Delevigne and Mad Max star Anya Taylor Joy.

Maybe their set couldn’t compete with Kylie or Dolly in terms of sing-along feeling, but no reasonable person could have denied the reaction to their final song – the aforementioned “Man! I Feel Like A Woman”.

By this point, Twain had given up on singing the melody so much that she gave up singing the melody and opted for a low-register harmony while her backup singers took on the high notes. (It should be noted that her voice has never been the same since Lyme disease caused nerve damage to her vocal cords in the early 2000s.)

Meanwhile, the audience climbed onto each other’s shoulders, waved their feather boas and shouted back every word in unison.

Fans later told the BBC they were very impressed.

“It was absolutely incredible. The best part of the weekend,” said Bethany from Surrey.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” agreed Gloucester fan Liv. “She put on a fantastic show.”

“She was absolutely crazy. I love her so much,” added Leah, from Middlesborough.

“She looks incredible for her age, she has so much confidence.

“She embodies girl power, completely.”