While thousands of people flocked to Worthy Farm to see the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Kylie Minogue and The Killers, there’s one surprise act who stole the show, and he goes by the name of Alex.
Despite not being on the set list, Alex blew fans away with his lyric-perfect rendition of Thiago Silva, when rapper Dave pulled him stage to help perform the track at Glastonbury.
Festival reveller Alex caught Dave’s eye when he jumped on his mate’s shoulders wearing a Paris Saint-Germain shirt emblazoned with the name of the Brazilian footballer, right before Dave was about to perform the song he performs with AJ Tracey – what are the chances?
Alex you absolute legend 👏
This kid just smashed @Santandave1 x @ajtracey’s ‘Thiago Silva’ live at #Glastonbury2019 #BBCGlasto 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/psgEjfFVQ5
— BBC Radio 1Xtra (@1Xtra) June 30, 2019
Much to the crowd and Dave’s surprise, Alex absolutely nailed it, making him an online sensation overnight, but the excitement didn’t stop there for the rap-fan.
The performance made such an impact that it actually filtered back to the Brazilian defender himself, who tweeted out his appreciation for the iconic cover.
Sharing a video of the set, he simply wrote ‘thanks Alex!’ before going on to add ‘help me find Alex!’
Me ajudem a encontrar o Alex!
— Thiago Silva (@tsilva3) July 1, 2019
After the track finished, Dave told the young lad ‘wait there for me on the side of the stage, I’m gonna nick you,’ so it’s fair to assume the rapper probably took his details and could link him up.
Unsurprisingly, Alex spotted the footballer’s tweet and replied ‘right here mate’. Could we be about to see him go from Glastonbury’s Other Stage to Le Parc des Princes with the main man himself? He’s clearly a man of many talents after all.
Right here mate
— Alex Mann (@mannerzzzz) July 1, 2019
While most people were impressed with the impromptu collaboration, others reckon it was all just a bit too perfect, leading them to believe Alex’s performance could’ve been a set up.
One person tweeted: ‘Defo a plant happens to be wearing a thiago silva psg shirt and he bounces round that stage like he’s done it before [sic],’ while another added: ‘Not a plant at all. God no. Nothing to see here.’
I must say, after having a little nosy through Alex’s Twitter account, he looks like a pretty normal lad, and it’s clear he’s a huge fan of grime music, so here’s to hoping his performance was a wonderful coincidence.
@joe_weller_ pic.twitter.com/5jfyAMPmR6
— Alex Mann (@mannerzzzz) June 30, 2019
Dave later took to Twitter to say ‘Thiago Silva has recognised Thiago Silva and now I have decided to retire. My work here is done.’
AJ Tracey added ‘same to be honest, that’s all we ever wanted.’
same tbh that's all we ever wanted 😂 https://t.co/iht3jONW5C
— aj (@ajtracey) July 1, 2019
Who’d have thought it would take a performance from a bucket hat-wearing superfan to get their work noticed?
We’ll keep an eye out for Alex’s album drop.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.