On the road for their highly anticipated Crash World Tour, American R&B singer Kehlani landed back in Melbourne for the second stop on the Australia/New Zealand leg to perform at John Cain Arena.
Gaining early success as a member of the teen pop group PopLyfe, before branching out soon after the group’s debut to work on a career as a soloist, Kehlani debuted in 2014 with the mixtape Cloud 19, followed by 2015’s You Should Be Here, Kehlani began to make regular appearances in music publications as an artist to watch. You Should Be Here even earned them a Grammy nomination, no small feat for a relative unknown. In the proceeding years, Kehlani developed their craft, touring with stars like Demi Lovato, and featuring on tracks by Cardi B and Justin Bieber. Building a solid fan base with their rich voice, catchy hooks, and relatable lyrics, Kehlani’s return to Australia marks a firm turning point in their career.
A sizeable turnout for the seasoned singer, John Cain Arena was buzzing with Melbourne fans on Tuesday night. Despite a delayed start to the show due to sound check production issues, Kehlani took the stage right on schedule, appearing on an elevated platform centre stage. Obscured by a large sheer curtain, Kehlani moved like a lithe burlesque dancer in silhouette, and as the curtain fell, they were revealed in the venue to a chorus of excited cheers.
Opening the night with songs ‘Next 2 You’, ‘GrooveTheory’, and ‘What I Want’ from their fourth studio album Crash, Kehlani roamed the platform dressed in a green long sleeve and plaid micro mini skirt, with a flowing train that billowed out behind them as they danced. Before long, Kehlani was joined by four backup dancers and together they performed a high-energy hip-hop routine. Kehlani, who has a background in dance, moved seamlessly with their backup dancers, exciting the crowd as they performed, grinding and gyrating against their dancers suggestively.
Taking a moment to address the audience, Kehlani spoke briefly about how small their last Melbourne show was. Like many artists, Kehlani’s bond with their fans is strong, but unlike a lot of artists, they spoke to the Melbourne crowd very candidly, teasing them for getting lyrics wrong or attempting to pronounce words in an Australian accent. Intent on making the show feel as exciting and memorable as possible, Kehlani at one point came down to the barricade to serenade fans up close. She even cut the music during their song ‘The Way’ to encourage fans to sing Chance the Rapper’s part, brought two fans on stage to dance with them, and paused the show to make sure a fan in distress could get help.
Despite Kehlani’s energy and enthusiasm firing on all cylinders, the show definitely had one major downside: the live band. Rearranging most of their songs to have a rock sound, the bass and drums were unbelievably overpowering; while I don’t condemn the use of a live band by any means, a band can do the star a disservice by being too loud. There were many points during the concert where I struggled to not only hear Kehlani clearly over the sounds of their band, but even discern what songs they were singing.
However, the best part of the evening was when Kehlani slowed it down to give pared back performances of ‘Everything’ and ‘Honey’, the latter they dedicated to “all the pretty girls” in the venue. As soon as the first notes of these slow jams played out, flashlights sprinkled to life around the stands and through the standing area. Allowing Melbourne fans to sing the second chorus of the song ‘Honey’, this part of the concert felt the most intimate and allowed for Kehlani’s voice to carry fully, rich and buttery smooth. Bringing the energy back up to prepare for the encore, Kehlani treated fans to a surprise cover of Bruno Mars’ song ‘Marry You’ and their feature from Cardi B’s ‘Ring’.
With Kehlani closing out the night with ‘Nights Like This’ and ‘After Hours’, Melbourne fans left the venue chanting “One more song!” and filled with joy having witnessed an artist they love. Despite the difficulties I had hearing them clearly over the band, I could clearly see that the rest of the venue was full of very happy music lovers.
Kehlani performed at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena on Tuesday 18th March as part of their Crash World Tour, proudly presented by Live Nation Australia. She will play at Brisbane’s Riverstage next on Friday the 21st of March before heading to Auckland, New Zealand’s Spark Arena on Sunday March 23rd. The world tour will conclude at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii on Wednesday March 26.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.kehlani.com/tour
https://www.livenation.com.au/kehlani-tickets-adp767163
https://www.instagram.com/kehlani
Photography by Ian Reyno.
