Girl In Red tells us about battling addiction at Glastonbury 2025: “It’s something we need to talk about a lot more”

Girl In Red caught up with NME backstage at Glastonbury 2025 where she opened up about the heavy themes she’s tackled in her latest songs. Check out a little of the video interview above, or read it in full below.

The Norwegian singer-songwriter took to The Park stage on Sunday (June 29) for a riotous and often dreamy set with fan favourites like ‘Bad Idea!’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend’ and ‘We Fell In Love In October’. This was also one of her first gigs since sharing the two new singles ‘Hemingway’ and ‘Confession’ – where she gets candid about themes of addiction and mental health.

Backstage before the stirring performance, the singer – real name Marie Ulven Ringheim – spoke to NME about what it was like to overcome her nerves to share the tracks, despite “worrying” if it would change fans’ perception of her. She also shared insight into her venture into the acting world, and when we can expect to see her make a feature film debut in Eivind Landsvik’s Low Expectations.

Read the full interview below, where she also tells us about the similarities between acting and being on stage, and if taking on the film role has tempted her to put music to one side.

NME: Hi Girl In Red, what’s it like to be here at Glastonbury? 

Girl In Red: “I just got in an hour ago and already I just feel the vibes are washing over me. The smell is washing over me too, I’ve seen some dirty people! So far, so good though, I’m going to have a little look around the whole area because there are so many cool things to see. It’s looking like a well-marinated Glastonbury out there…”

You recently released two beautiful singles, ‘Hemingway’ and ‘Confession’ and opened up about some heavy topics like addiction and mental health. How have you found the response so far?

“When I put out ‘Confession’ a lot of people were really worried at first, and I guess rightfully so because I haven’t really been doing that well. Then I followed up that song, which is barely a minute and a half, with ‘Hemingway’ and the response to that has been incredible.

“I’m very moved by the response because it’s a very vulnerable song about addiction and heartbreak and relationship problems, and how they all kind of intertwine.”

It must have felt daunting to share something like that with the world… 

“Yeah, I was really scared to put it out there because I didn’t want people to look at me and be like, ‘Oh, she’s just a recovering addict’ or something. I was so worried about how other people would perceive me. I guess I felt a lot of shame at first, and that’s probably why I had those thoughts about wanting to be perceived in a certain way. But then I was like, ‘I’ve been really sick, and addiction is an illness and it’s not something you should be ashamed about… It’s something we need to talk about a lot more’.

“It was really hard at first and I think a lot of people deal with shame when it comes to topics of addiction because it’s kind of taboo. People have a lot of prejudice towards those who are addicts and some think they just made bad decisions, but it’s a lot more complex than that.”

As well as new music, you’re also in the process of making your debut feature film, Low Expectations. How have you been finding the world of acting so far?

“There are some similarities between music and acting. When I’m playing songs live, sometimes I’m not really in the mood for that song at all, but I’m just tapping into it and it sort of becomes a performance. Similarly, when I’ve been acting, it’s also taking on a character. I’m tapping into someone who I’m not, and into feelings that I’ve probably felt before, but I’m not feeling them there. I’m working out how I can make it seem like I am.

“It’s been really intense 10-12 hour days for like a month. I was like, ‘Damn, this is more intense than touring!’ It’s been really cool though and I really hope that the movie is good, because you kind of need to trust the process.”

Can you tell us anything about when we can expect to see the film? 

“I’m curious myself, honestly! I hope that it’s gonna be next year. Because I think this year it’s probably all going to be editing and stuff, and they probably wanna try and get it to festivals. It’s all really fun, and I really wanna do more acting.”

Could you see yourself maybe putting music on the back burner and pursuing acting full-time for a little bit? 

“I don’t really know! I’m at this weird crossroads now because I’m doing the film, but I have a lot of music that I’m working on also. Music is such an inherent part of who I am, so it’s not something I can just put aside… but also, I’ve been doing it since I was 14, so it’s cool to do something new. It felt like a breath of fresh air to do the acting stuff.

“I don’t want to put music on the back burner, I just want to make stuff that matters to me, go with the flow, and just create things that I’m proud of. I’m like a little ball of clay recently, I feel like I can be moulded into anything and I don’t even know what I’m going be moulded into!”

The release date for Low Expectations has not been officially shared, although it is expected to arrive in 2026.

The post Girl In Red tells us about battling addiction at Glastonbury 2025: “It’s something we need to talk about a lot more” appeared first on NME.