Anticipation for American R&B singer Kehlani was high on the first stop of her debut Australian tour (25 August).
Kehlani has amassed features with Calvin Harris, Zayn Malik and Justin Bieber, but on Friday night it was all about her and her debut album ‘SweetSexySavage’.
The excitement could be felt before entering the venue, with a massive queues stretching all the way down the block. The long line meant I missed half of tour support JOY’s set. But the Brisbane singer-songwriter impressed with her whispery voice and electronic ballads.
Despite JOY admitting her nervousness, she was showered with cheers for her delicate tunes throughout.
The break between JOY and Kehlani was filled with screams and chants. There was probably no need for the 20-minute warm-up set from Kehlani’s DJ since fans were already at boiling point.
When Kehlani finally strut on the stage with her two backing dancers, the screams were deafening to the point of hurting. With only one album and two mixtapes to her name, you’d think there’d be a lot of filler. But every song Kehlani sings sounds like a hit.
From the opening hooks of ‘Keep On’ to the powerhouse vocals of ballad ‘Gangsta’, every song is immediate and catchy. My ears especially perked up during the skittering ‘Everything Is Yours’.
Kehlani has a lot of love for her Australian fans, encouraging fans to sing by shouting “C’mon with those cute-ass accents”. She also showed knowledge of the current marriage equality campaign, asking fans to show compassion and vote yes.
In a stroke of genius, Kehlani segued into the Latin-flavoured ‘Undercover’. With lyrics like: “They don’t wanna see it happen, but we say, ‘F@#% it’,” it’s the perfect anthem for marriage-equality supporters.
There was a lot of love for Kehlani throughout the night, but the crowd went particularly wild for her hit song ‘CRZY’. The opening lyric: “Everything I do I do it with a passion” could be applied to both Kehlani and the crowd, who gave their all singing the song together.
Kehlani may think she’s “just your home-girl, f#$%ing up like everybody else,” but she shines on the stage. Her energy, compassion and big tunes will surely see her light up the world like she just did in Brisbane.
