I never expected to get the Tom Jones treatment and it amazes me that I do. Strangely it’s women who throw their underwear at me when I’m performing live. My male fans tend to be quite shy. My female fans are wild. I never know what to do with all the lingerie that lands at my feet. Maybe I should open a shop.

Goulding humorously frames an unexpected aspect of pop stardom: being sexualized by audiences in a way associated with earlier male heartthrobs (her reference to Tom Jones). By contrasting “shy” male fans with “wild” female fans, she highlights how fan behavior can invert stereotypical expectations about who expresses overt desire at concerts. The quip about opening a shop turns discomfort and surprise into self-deprecating comedy, suggesting she is both bemused and slightly at a loss about how to respond. The remark also gestures toward the performative, ritualized nature of concert fandom—throwing lingerie as a symbolic offering—while underscoring the gap between an artist’s self-image and the public’s projections.