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Music fans couldn’t get enough of brilliant female musicians this year – to borrow a term from Chappell Roan, there was a ‘femininomenon’ across the UK’s small venues, arenas and stadiums. Beyoncé even played six shows at 62,000-cap Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Here’s a rundown of 2025’s most in-demand gigs by female artists, based on search traffic on ticket marketplace viagogo.
Lady Gaga
Played: The O2, London (four shows); Co-op Live, Manchester (two shows)
Originally, Lady Gaga wasn’t going to tour in support of her 2025 album ‘Mayhem‘. But fans were so dazzled by its array of bombastic pop stompers that she hatched ‘The Mayhem Ball’, a four-act spectacular with a lavish stage set that resembled an opera house. Gaga’s banger-packed setlist ran the gamut from her 2008 breakthrough single ‘Just Dance’ to this year’s luminous earworm ‘Abracadabra’.
Billie Eilish
Played: Co-op Live, Manchester (four shows); The O2, London (six shows); The OVO Hydro, Glasgow (two shows)
No one can bring intimacy to a packed arena like Billie Eilish, who combines supple vocals and nimble musicianship with unflagging, stage-prowling energy. Her ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour’, which traversed the UK this summer, was such a cultural sensation that it’s even spawned an upcoming concert film directed by James Cameron. It’s definitely a show worth reliving.
Sabrina Carpenter
Played: Utilita Arena, Birmingham; The O2, London (two shows); The OVO Hydro, Glasgow; Co-op Live, Manchester (two shows); Hyde Park, London (two shows)
If 2024 was Sabrina Carpenter‘s breakthrough year, then 2025 cemented her place on pop’s A-list. She released a witty new album, ‘Man’s Best Friend’, and embarked on her first arena tour before playing two huge headline shows in Hyde Park. As well as performing ‘Espresso’, ‘Manchild’ and all her other earworms, she demonstrated her range by dropping in surprise cover versions. Could Carpenter make ‘Come On Eileen’ and ‘Mamma Mia’ her own? Of course she could – in Hyde Park, she even sang ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’ with Duran Duran.
Beyoncé
Played: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London (six shows)
When Beyoncé brought her ‘Cowboy Carter Tour’ to London in June, she turned Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into a glitzy and super-inclusive rodeo. Her epic, two-hour 45-minute live show was defined by its dazzling production values and uncommon generosity. Every night, she rode a flying Cadillac high into the rafters so everyone could see her close-up. That’s just the sort of regal behaviour we’ve come to expect from Queen Bey.
Gracie Abrams
Played: The O2, London; Co-op Live, Manchester; Utilita Arena, Cardiff; The OVO Hydro, Glasgow; First Direct Arena, Leeds; Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, Glastonbury Festival; Hyde Park, London; TRSNMT Festival
Gracie Abrams graduated to the A-list with last year’s chart-topping album ‘The Secret Of Us’ and its inescapable folk-pop banger ‘That’s So True’. In 2025, the LA singer-songwriter underscored her main pop girl status with a sellout UK arena tour and stellar festival sets. At Glastonbury, she even got to deliver the viral ‘Apple’ dance for Charli XCX: the ultimate pop culture seal of approval.
Olivia Rodrigo
Played: Hyde Park, London; Glastonbury Festival; Co-op Live, Manchester
Right after she headlined Glastonbury, Olivia Rodrigo returned to Manchester to play two ‘Guts World Tour’ shows she had to postpone in 2024. That’s a typically magnanimous move from the Gen Z icon, who charmed audiences with pop-punk anthems (‘Brutal’, ‘Bad Idea Right?’), dramatic ballads (‘Drivers License’, ‘Vampire’), and off-the-cuff chat about how much she loves M&S. At this point, she’s practically an honorary Brit.
Tate McRae
Played: Utilita Arena, Birmingham; The O2, London (two shows); The OVO Hydro, Glasgow; Co-op Live, Manchester (two shows); Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
After dropping her third album ‘So Close To What’ in February, Tate McRae showcased its Y2K-influenced club bangers at UK arenas in May and June. The charismatic Canadian is one of the fiercest dancers in pop right now, so she served killer choreo as well as killer pop hooks. At a Tate McRae show, no one stays seated for long.
Lana Del Rey
Played: Principality Stadium, Cardiff; Anfield, Liverpool; Hampden Park, Glasgow; Wembley Stadium, London (two shows)
Though she delayed her much-anticipated country album, ‘Stove’, 2025 was still a landmark year for Lana Del Rey. During the summer, she levelled up with her first-ever stadium tour, which brought vintage Americana to the UK’s most capacious venues. Her stage set featured a recreation of a classic suburban house complete with a porch swing and a white picket fence: the perfect backdrop for Del Rey to sing evocative alt-pop ballads like ‘Ride’ and ‘Born to Die’.
Olivia Dean
Played: O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London (two shows); The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh; The Dome at Grand Central Hall, Liverpool; The Wardrobe, Leeds; Trinity Centre, Bristol (two shows); Gorilla, Manchester (two shows); Circuit, Kingston-upon-Thames (two shows), Saltbox, Nottingham (two shows)
If one word sums up Olivia Dean‘s year, it’s supernova. She opened for Sam Fender at his UK stadium shows, scored her first Number One single with the slinky soul bop ‘Man I Need’, and released an excellent second album, ‘The Art of Loving’. Fans who caught her in relatively intimate venues up and down the country were definitely lucky – next year, Dean is headlining arenas.
