With flawless live vocals, energetic dance numbers and excellent visuals, Camila Cabello enchanted fans at Brixton’s O2 Academy on Tuesday, June 12.
Making the latest stop on her first international tour, the 21-year-old American brought the audience to their feet with a dramatic entrance that plunged the stage into darkness before filling it with flashing lights and smoke.
Cabello emerged from the smoke singing ‘Never Be The Same’ from her self-titled platinum debut solo album ‘Camila’.
Wearing a lacy black bodice, fishnet tights and black boots paired with a black and gold cropped jacket, the singer oozed gothic glamour as she belted out her tracks.
The entire show was a visual spectacle with every song having different stage lighting and on-screen graphics, and the dancers performing complex, high-energy choreography.
‘She Loves Control’ brought Latin vibes and a strong bass accompanied by a male dancer imitating being controlled by imaginary strings pulled by Cabello.
A full dance ensemble came next, leading into the Caribbean beats of upbeat track ‘Inside Out’.
“Thank you so much for making my dreams come true tonight. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I promise to give you 100 million percent of what I have tonight,” Cabello told the audience.
An intimate ballads section followed, with the singer performing an a capella cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘I Can’t Help Falling in Love’ and a piano rendition of her emotive song ‘Consequences’.
The fans sang along throughout with Cabello addressing them again to introduce ‘Something’s Gotta Give’.
“It’s about a moment in my life where I had to choose love or fear. I had to choose loving myself enough to get out of a toxic relationship and not listen to the voice telling me change was too risky. I see so many of you every day choosing love over fear,” she said.
‘Something’s gotta give, something’s gotta break, but all I do is give and all you do is take’ opens the chorus of this moving song.
The track was given additional meaning by on-screen visuals which showed images of homelessness, refugee crises, Black Lives Matter protests and survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
A sombre mood swept the audience as people hugged and held hands during the performance.
Unreleased track ‘Scar Tissue’ came next, with Cabello telling the audience: “I wrote this during definitely the most difficult time in my life. Scar tissue is the body’s way of healing. All you can do is be so loving and so patient and so kind with yourself.”
Crowd-favourite ‘In The Dark’ was performed literally in the dark, with all stage lights turned off and fans asked to wave their lit up mobile phones.
The upbeat energy returned when a selection of fans were invited on stage to sing-a-long to another crowd-pleaser ‘Real Friends’.
The song chronicles the ups and downs of trying to make authentic friendships in a ‘paper town that has let me down too many times’.
Surprise guest Ann-Marie joined the stage to get the crowd pumped up with her 2016 major hit ‘Rockabye’, recorded with Clean Bandit and Sean Paul.
During sensual track ‘Into It’, Cabello took a rainbow LGBT pride flag from the crowd and draped it over her shoulders which prompted cheers from the audience.
The singer then exited the stage before returning for a short reprise that included her latest release ‘Sangria Wine’, a reggaeton-inspired tune featuring Pharrell Williams.
Williams also produced Cabello’s most well-known song, UK number one single ‘Havana’, which was the final song of the evening and had the audience on their feet one last time.
As the crowd filed out of Brixton Academy, it was clear Camila Cabello’s combination of eclectic musical genres, strong vocals, fantastic dancers and excellent visuals had been a big hit.
