LIVE REVIEWS
The last time we saw RAYE on this stage, she was making history. Two weeks ago, she picked up a record-breaking six BRIT Awards during the annual ceremony held at London’s The O2, including the coveted trophy for British Album of the Year. Tonight, her first time headlining the same venue (in a show that sold out in less than a day, no less), feels like another key moment in the artist’s musical history.
Joined on stage by the Heritage Orchestra and vocal group Flames Collective, RAYE is here to put on a show dubbed ‘My 21st Century Symphony’ for the second time following a previous version at the Royal Albert Hall last year. It sees her critically acclaimed debut album, ‘My 21st Century Blues’, given the orchestral treatment, with huge, cinematic arrangements accompanying each of the songs.
It’s a triumphant celebration of an album that RAYE had to fight to put out. In 2021, while signed to a major label, she revealed on social media: “I have been on a 4 ALBUM RECORD DEAL since 2014 !!! And haven’t been allowed to put out one album.” Several weeks later, she announced that she’d split from said label and was now an independent artist, and in 2022 started sharing new music. In early 2023, the singer was finally able to share her first album, a powerhouse project that’s further elevated by the orchestra accompaniment.
RAYE’s joy at performing tonight is evident from the moment she runs on stage and exclaims, “What the fuck!” before launching into a soaring rendition of ‘Oscar Winning Tears’. Throughout, her effortless vocals – reminiscent of Amy Winehouse or nostalgic jazz club singers – fly across the orchestra, melismatic runs soaring through the huge arena and scat singing incorporated. In between songs, though, the star is all breezy charm, easily entertaining the crowd like fellow pop heroes Adele or Lewis Capaldi.
The new arrangements are magnificent. Pulsating ‘Black Mascara’ is a shimmering smash – sweeping strings and rousing choral arrangements bring theatrical drama to the song before it launches into its floor-filling, euphoria-driven finale. The jazzy ‘Worth It’ feels straight out of an old Hollywood movie, and ‘Buss It Down’ sees RAYE encourage the audience to take on the role of a gospel choir.
It’s ‘Ice Cream Man’, a powerful and honest song about experiences of sexual assault, that’s the most affecting moment of the evening. Introducing it, RAYE reflects, “[It’s] the saddest song I ever wrote, and it’s a song I wish I didn’t have to write”, later adding it “doesn’t get any easier to sing”. When she ends the song by switching the lyrics to sing, “I see some very fucking brave, strong women, in here tonight”, it feels like a collective moment of catharsis.
As the performance closes with an encore of left-field pop juggernaut ‘Escapism’, RAYE reflects, “I hope you had as beautiful night as I just did”, describing our evening together as “what dreams are made of”. A triumphant performance from a live sensation, this was a career-defining show for RAYE.
‘Overture (Introduction)’
‘Oscar Winning Tears’
‘Hard Out Here’
‘The Thrill Is Gone Requiem’
‘The Thrill Is Gone’
‘Five Star Hotels’
‘Mary Jane vs Graeme Blevins’
‘Mary Jane’
‘Environmental Anxiety’
‘Body Dysmorphia’
‘Ice Cream Man’
‘Dani’s Interlude’
‘Flip A Switch’
‘Black Mascara’
‘Prada’
‘Let There Be Light’
‘Worth It Prelude’
‘Worth It’
‘Buss It Down’
‘Escapism’
LIVE REVIEWS
“Express yourself,” a whispered voice hushes through the main stage as the lights flicker. Doja Cat is about to take to the main stage to headline the final night of Coachella 2024, and when she emerges at the end of the runway in a hazmat suit, you know she’s going to do as those two words say.
For the rapper, expressing herself often means doing things others might not – either because her form of expression is too off-the-wall for the rest of the world or too controversial. Tonight, she proves the former spirit is well and truly alive, bringing a touch of brilliant weirdness to the desert.
After the opening two songs, she takes off the white suit that leaves only her face visible to reveal a body suit covered in long locks of blonde hair. Ominous tones roll out over the field as she crawls up to the main stage before ‘Demons’ cuts in, and she’s joined by dancers dressed in yeti costumes. If these are the demons she’s rapping about, they don’t look too bad – cuddly, almost – and she embraces them fully, climbing on one’s shoulders to deliver the final parts of the track.
This is just the beginning of the Doja Cat spectacle tonight, which includes multiple outfit changes and stage antics that get increasingly madcap. After a commanding ‘Tia Tamera’, she disappears behind a curtain, only her silhouette visible, as the buzzing sound of an electric razor whirrs, and she pretends to shave off the thigh-length blonde hair she’s been whipping around until now. When she emerges, she sports a shaved head and a look that can only be described as high fashion cyborg.
As the performance enters its final throes, she’s joined by a very special, unusual guest – the gigantic skeleton of a dinosaur. It rolls down the runway after her as she airs ‘WYM Freestyle’, looking like she’s about to be its next victim. Before the track is up, though, it appears to decide Doja is too formidable an opponent and retreats back to where it came from.
Formidable is exactly what the star is tonight, crafting a fiery set that bounces through her rap-focused songs and never lets the energy drop. ‘OKLOSER’, which gets its live debut tonight, is an infectious highlight, while ‘Balut’ drops the tempo to something a little more soulful but still powerful. When she brings out living human guests to join her on stage, she doesn’t come close to being overshadowed.
21 Savage appears for ’n.h.i.e.’, while Teezo Touchdown ups the weird, vocalising into a flower that seems to require his whole head to be submerged in its petals. A$AP Rocky makes his second appearance of the weekend for a ferocious ‘URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!’, trading bars with his host from the top of a scaffolding tower. Earlier in the evening, South African a cappella group The Joy bring light to ‘Shutcho’.
It’s unfortunate that the crowd tonight isn’t much bigger than it is – or that, other than the fans down the front, its energy isn’t far higher. Sure, it’s the final night of the weekend and the chilly desert winds are roaring, but the reception for Doja is disappointingly flat. Perhaps that’s because she doesn’t give the casual viewers what they want – her pop hits. There is no ‘Say So’ in this set, nor a rendition of ‘Kiss Me More’ – with or without a cameo from SZA. ‘Paint The Town Red’, her latest smash, is saved until the penultimate track in the setlist, but even when its opening notes drop, the response is muted.
Regardless, Doja sticks to her guns throughout and closes the performance in the kind of way that leaves the audience confused. After a brief break from the stage, the rapper reappears back at the end of the runway, which has now turned into a ring full of slimy, grey mud. She and her dancers get stuck into the mess as she closes the set with ‘Wet Vagina’, somehow not slipping and sliding through it but nailing the choreography.
As Doja strides back to the main stage and blows a kiss goodbye, the crowd hesitates, wondering, “Is that it?” They get their answer when the lights finally go out – a subdued ending, perhaps, but one that comes after 90 minutes of pure pageantry.
‘Acknowledge Me’
‘Shutcho’
‘Demons’
‘Tia Tamera’
‘Fuck The Girls (FTG)’
‘Gun’
‘OKLOSER’
‘Ouchies
‘n.h.i.e.’
‘Attention’
’97’
‘Balut’
‘Need To Know’
‘MASC’
‘Streets’
‘Agora Hills’
‘Ain’t Shit’
‘WYM Freestyle’
‘URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!’
‘Paint The Town Red’
‘Wet Vagina’
