Amy MacDonald is a 20-year-old self-taught musician from Scotland who picked up her first guitar almost half a lifetime ago. This week, she learned her debut album This is the Life has already sold one million copies, two months before its August 19th US release. Many of the songs on the record, such as “Mr. Rock & Roll,” express her bewilderment at the celebrity-infatuated culture she lives in. Ironically, the album has elevated MacDonald to an object of adoration herself on account of her strikingly rich voice, genuine and clever lyricism, and exuberant guitar playing. Check out the audience reaction to MacDonald in this clip of her performing “Mr. Rock & Roll” at the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands on 5/31/2008, which drew 180,000 people over three days.

Pinkpop is the oldest annual festival in the world, drawing 1.5 million music fans and performances from the likes of R.E.M, Fairport Convention and Metallica over 40 years. Its name is originally derived from the Dutch word for Pentecost “pinksteren” because the festival was traditionally held on Pentecost weekend. However, the word “pop” in Dutch means “doll” and today the festival is represented by its logo of a pink doll.