That Mad Cool festival, which began ten years ago with a deep commitment to the rock of The Who and Neil Young , fully embraced pop—even K-pop— this Thursday through performances by stars like Lorde and Florence + The Machine, making this the first day of this year’s festival to sell out all its tickets.
To be honest, and according to the organizers themselves—who announced a “sold out” crowd of 57,000—it was South Korean artist Jennie who drove ticket sales the most, which is why she was given the day’s prime slot.
In one of her few performances outside of her band, the global K-pop phenomenon Blackpink, the young artist took the stage at Mad Cool with a highly visual performance, featuring ten dancers showcasing her choreographic skills and Korean discipline.
“I’m so happy to be here tonight!” he said in clear Spanish, in one of several moments in which he demonstrated his effort and dedication to giving his all to the Madrid audience, a large portion of which was made up of very young fans.
Relying on a single solo album, *Ruby* (2025)—which made up the bulk of her setlist—her musical performance was not, however, as brilliant as that of her fellow performers, though it’s worth noting the interlude with “Dracula,” the Tame Impala track she sang on, and the finale with “Like Jennie.”
Lorde’s Debut in Madrid
Perhaps her commercial dominance is what explains why other, more established artists have been pushed out of more prominent slots—as is the case with New Zealand’s Lorde—not only because this is the only show she’ll be performing in Spain following the release of her fourth album, ‘Virgin’ (2025), but also because it was her first-ever performance in Madrid.
“Madrid, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time and I’ve heard so much about you all… I’m sorry it took so long,” she apologized, “sweaty and a mess,” in the afternoon, with temperatures at 37 degrees at the Iberdrola Music venue, dressed in an outfit that was part athletic wear, part nightgown.
If anyone has really gone all out, it’s undoubtedly this artist, who delivered a cohesive and minimalist show, featuring giant, movable LED backdrops, two dancers, and four musicians who, along with her distinctive vocal tone, brought a lot of energy and vibrancy to a live performance with a heavy electronic beat and pre-recorded vocals.
As if to illustrate this, heart rate monitors were attached to her body, and the screen showed how, first with “Supercut” and then with “Team” toward the end, her live performance set her heart—and those of her fans—racing.
The precocious teenager who surprised everyone with “Royals” in 2013 has grown as a performer and songwriter, and she demonstrated this in a generous show that offered a good overview of all her albums, notably “Melodrama,” which, with “Green Light,” had everyone jumping, not to mention her collaboration with Charlie XCX, “Girl, So Confusing.”
Her show—which, given its electronic nature, would have shone even brighter at night and as the closing act—nevertheless provided a nice contrast, with its understated style, to the next diva of the day, the Swedish singer Zara Larsson.
Florence evokes summer
The singer of “Lush Life” was one of those surprises that Mad Cool booked without realizing that, at this point, she would be experiencing another high point in her career thanks to her album *Midnight Sun* (2025) and her timely collaborations with artists like Pink Pantheress.
Larsson, deeply committed to her principles, took the stage not only with six dancers but also with four women as members of her band, and she filled Mad Cool with color thanks to her hits, her charm, her powerful vocals, and “Symphony” (the song she recorded with Clean Bandit), which also had everyone jumping.
In the face of this female dominance, the appearances of other artists like Charlie Puth or Teddy Swims—both representatives of a certain kind of “white soul”—seem almost trivial, as they have ultimately served more to make way for the latest queen of the night than anything else.
Dressed in blue and barefoot—as is customary for this enchantress who carries on the finest traditions of other witches like Stevie Nicks—she took the stage to deliver a show that struck a perfect balance between her major albums, including both her most recent, *Everybody Scream* (2025), as well as the much-loved *Ceremonials* (2011) and *Lungs* (2009).
In fact, it didn’t take long for her to release one of her biggest hits, “Shake It Out,” and shortly afterward, she invited everyone to embrace the magic inherent in the summer solstice by climbing onto the back of whoever was closest to them—something her devoted followers did without hesitation, following her commands to the letter in one of the best concerts of the festival, according to Agencia EFE.
