Pop
Madison Beer brings pop power to a sold‑out O2 Arena
Madison Beer delivered a triumphant, emotional and high‑energy performance at London’s O2 Arena, proving she’s now operating at full pop‑star scale.
On the first of two UK arena tour dates in support of her new album, locket, Madison Beer proved she is a popstar who can do it all.
Taking to the stage at a sold-out O2, the platinum-selling, two-time GRAMMY-nominated artist’s arrival was met with deafening screams.
“This is a dream come true, it’s insane, I don’t know what to say to you,” she gushed, understandably overcome with emotion.
Later sharing how Justin Bieber sang Happy Birthday to her on the same stage when she was just 14, she reflected: “I started doing this when I was 12 and have gone through a lot in this industry and online, but I would do it all again if it led me here."
With the house lights on, such a poignant sentiment had a powerful effect on the legion of fans who belted back every lyric of her 24-song set, which was split into three acts and an encore.
Beer’s versatility shined bright throughout: the hedonistic yes baby hit like a BRAT [Charli xcx's album] cut as she strutted down the runway, while the soaring bad enough saw her knelt to the floor pouring her heart out.
Other highlights included the cinematic Selfish, which peaked with similalry stunning vocal acrobatics, and BOYSHIT, that had everyone jumping together and shouting the words back like it was their national anthem.
The occasional rave-y and more experimental moments switched up the pace nicely, too: following January’s breakbeats-laced nothing at all, cathartic 2019 throwback Dear Society dissected mental health with Billie Eilish-style pitch-shifting.
The energy veered even closer to club territory with the addictive pulse of make you mine and the swirling breakbeats of complexity, the latter of which was paired with bright neon strobes.
Amid her flawless performance - which only fell slightly flat during the video-based intervals to allow for outfit changes - Beer made time to interact with her biggest fans.
After reading out song lyrics from a heart-shaped box, two stans were given the chance to decide which song they wanted to hear, resulting in one becoming teary after opting for the breaku-rager Good In Goodbye.
Towards the end of the concert, she embraced those on the front row, taking selfies, signing vinyls and receiving gifts, including a British flag which she proudly draped around her during a spectacular confetti-covered finale of Bittersweet.
Rating: 4/5
