American singer-songwriter Tinashe recently touched down on Aussie shores for her highly anticipated Match My Freak World Tour with the multi-hyphenate entertainer performing to a sold-out audience at Forum Melbourne.
Making her debut as an actress, Tinashe launched her singing career as a member of girl group The Stunners in 2007. After the group disbanded in 2011, Tinashe began pursuing a solo career, quickly establishing herself as a talent to watch thanks to her delicately rich, soulful voice that is reminiscent of artists like Jhené Aiko and sister duo Chloe x Halle. Her debut studio album, Aquarius, debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200, marking the singer as a formidable talent early in her career.
Despite being active for over a decade to continued critical acclaim, it wasn’t until 2024 when Tinashe skyrocketed to global notoriety when the single ‘Nasty‘ from her 2024 album Quantum Baby went gangbuster levels of viral on TikTok. With an infectious hook and a beat made for dirty dancing, it was no surprise that the song became popular with lyrics like, “Is somebody gonna match my freak?” – and truly, it’s about time. One of the most criminally underrated singers of our age, Tinashe’s star finally has some fuel in the tank and is ready to fully shine.
The staging for Tinashe’s performance at Forum Melbourne was set with an elevated platform and full-size LED screen. Right on time, the screen lit up with a frenzied display of text and drone footage announcing Tinashe’s arrival. Appearing on stage with four male backup dancers, Tinashe opened the night with a barrage of songs, including ‘Getting No Sleep’, ‘When I Get You Alone’ and ‘Needs’. Incorporating songs from across her discography, Tinashe thrilled the excited sold-out Melbourne crowd with special performances of songs from her collaborations including ‘The Worst In Me’ from Haitian-Canadian singer-producer Kaytranada, and my personal favourite, ‘All My Friends’ by British electronic duo Snakehips.
The Match My Freak World Tour Melbourne concert felt like a show in hyperdrive, and Tinashe absolutely sped through the first half of her setlist. Her fan interactions consisted of the occasional shoutout for her “day ones” and she even kindly autographed a fan’s sign during her farewells. While it would have been nice to hear her speak to the crowd a little more and get a sense of her personality as an individual, not just as a performer, it was honestly really impressive to see her sing so many songs back-to-back; proof that Tinashe isn’t just some flash in the pan that went viral on social media. This is a young woman who has honed her talent and skills to incredible effect.
Reminding the energetic Melbourne crowd that she is a bonafide entertainer, Tinashe wasn’t content to just let her backup dancers do all the work, often performing the chorus and point choreography with them. Having been a dancer since the age of 4, Tinashe moved smoothly and swiftly, exhibiting incredible control over her body and voice, exciting the crowd with some risqué dance moves. Tinashe even danced closely with her backup performers, with one of them holding a Steadicam to get close-up footage of her and the dancers in intimate poses and backstage documentary-style footage of Tinashe singing ‘Cross That Line’. This helped give the show an even more intimate feeling than her music alone.
One of the best things about The Match My Freak Melbourne show, aside from the artist herself, was the use of the visualisers to enhance the energy of her music. While performing ‘When I Get You Alone’, Tinashe’s dancers were positioned on the elevated platform – dressed in all black while the screens were lit in bright white. This smartly gave the impression of the dancers being hidden behind screens, almost like a burlesque in silhouette.
When Tinashe entered her encore, a clip of Cher’s famous “I am a rich man” interview played as the intro to ‘No Broke Boys’, the perfect companion for a song about knowing your worth. While I’m running through the highlights, a special shoutout must be mentioned to the sound engineers that I spotted gleefully doing the choreography to ‘All Hands on Deck’. In a packed out venue with eager fans, this would have been easy to miss. But when it caught my eye, I couldn’t help but smile.
As Tinashe embarks on the final stretch of her Match My Freak World Tour, which will conclude in Dublin, Ireland this February, the multi-talented American artist has more than proven that she has what it takes to fill arenas in the near future. Listen to her latest album Quantum Baby, the 2nd album in a three-album trilogy that began with 2023’s BB/Ang3l, on all streaming platforms now.
Tinashe performed her Match My Freak World Tour, proudly presented by Frontier Touring, in Melbourne at Forum Melbourne on Tuesday the 7th of January, with the Australian leg then concluding in Sydney on Wednesday January 8th at Enmore Theatre.
For more information, visit:
https://www.frontiertouring.com/tinashe
https://www.tinashenow.com/home
https://www.instagram.com/tinashenow
Photography by Ian Reyno/rrey.studios.
