The last time she was at Glastonbury it was on the sidelines, watching her husband Jay-Z rip up the rule book as he won over a vast crowd of largely sceptical revellers, but it now looks like Beyoncé is to take centre stage at this summer's festival.
The queen of R&B looks likely to join U2 and Coldplay as headline acts at the 2011 instalment of the world's biggest festival, if rumours are to be believed.
U2 will headline the festival on the Friday evening, with Coldplay on Saturday and Beyoncé bringing festivities to a close on Sunday, according to the gossip website Holy Moly. Festival organisers would neither confirm nor deny the rumours.
Beyoncé's other, though certainly not better, half was a controversial choice in 2008, but a powerful set and a few well-aimed jibes at his detractor Noel Gallagher were well received by fans and critics.
U2 were due to play at Glastonbury's 40th anniversary last year before their lead singer, Bono, injured his back, and have made no secret that they want to play this year. At the time of the cancellation, the band said they were "heartbroken" and in October they posted a message on their website, which read: "Looking at the tour dates – there is a gap in the band's schedule ahead of the East Lansing show on June 26th, which would make the Friday night a possibility."
Later a note was posted advising U2 lovers to try to get their hands on tickets for the festival. A final none-too-subtle hint came in the guise of a new song, called "Glastonbury", which features the line: "There are some things you just can't control; sometimes you just can't let go."
Coldplay last played at the festival in 2005. But Beyoncé, a huge name in pop, is not an obvious fit with the sprawling festival behemoth. The organiser Michael Eavis has said his Sunday night headliner would be "an American artist that I've been wanting for yonks and yonks".
• This article was amended on 9 February 2011. The original said that Jay Z was a controversial choice in 2007. This has been corrected.
