Concert Review: Khalid Live In Auckland

Khalid returned to New Zealand on Wednesday night to perform two Spark Arena shows, one of which completely sold out, which is exactly why they needed to add another show. Khalid first came to Aotearoa in 2017 after popping off a little under a year beforehand with his first single Location, having his venue upgraded from the Town Hall to Spark Arena as tickets sold out within 10 minutes. In a way, that was pretty much foreshadowing the fact that Khalid was rapidly on his way to the top because playing at Spark Arena when you haven’t been in the game for that long is a crazy accomplishment. 2 years later, 21-year-old Khalid has been nominated for 5, yes 5 Grammys at the 2019 awards and he was on New Zealand soil when he found out the fantastic news. He even addressed it during the concert and I know for the fans who have been around since the beginning, it definitely would’ve felt like a win for them too. So props to Khalid for sharing that moment with the crowd.

Khalid was an all-ages event and people were surprisingly well behaved. I genuinely feel like all my online mutuals made it to either the first or second show so I feel like it makes going to see Khalid live an even more of a special, shared experience when you know that your friend was in that crowd too.

Lucky Daye was the opening act, starting beautifully on time (around 7:30pm). Lucky Daye himself was also nominated for 4 Grammy awards like holy sh*t, Auckland was really blessed two nights in a row with profound and quality talent. I think that he was a stunning singer with a beautiful voice. Some of his songs gave me serious 80s/90s vibes like New Edition, Luther Vandross, Bobby Brown type music, which I absolutely ate up. Lucky Daye was seriously setting the mood with funky, soulful RnB. Not to mention, he and his live band had crazy chemistry. Watching the guitarist or the drummer was an experience in itself, they were emanating this undeniable energy and it felt like each member of the band was performing at their own concert.

That’s how crazy their energy was and it was awesome to see them genuinely enjoying themselves and interacting with each other. I feel like being the opening act for a huge name comes with the challenge that people in the crowd come to the show specifically for the main act and generally don’t really know much of the opening act’s songs. So, in a sense, most of the crowd did not deserve Lucky Daye (or at least that’s what I know his fans would be saying) as not everyone was paying attention to him.

Nevertheless, Lucky Daye was extremely professional and delightfully confident, he interacted with the crowd, talking about his life and then played the song that relates to what he’s talking about. I think it’s very important when artists talk to the crowd, whether it’s about their life or a story or something to reminisce on. It makes people's experience that much better and allows us to get to know the artist in a more immediate way.

Everyone was eagerly waiting for Khalid and I would say he came on fairly quickly in comparison to most acts. Time really did fly by and when Khalid made his first appearance on the stage, people went nuts. Khalid dresses very casually but it totally suits him. He had about 6 dancers on the stage with him, who all looked so young and dressed similarly to him. The dress style reminds me of like, what high school students wear and if you’ve watched the Young, Dumb and Broke music video (which, by the way, has raked up a whopping 626 million views), that’s what it reminds me of. Anyway, I loved that the big screens on the side showed close-ups of his face. For people who are far away from the stage, they need that. Khalid mad cute too. His voice is like… amazing!!! In my opinion, he sounds even better live than he does in his recorded songs. He is beyond talented.

While he was singing, his dancers were dancing around him, using like literally all of the space on stage. They had many costume changes which I thought was wicked and kept some interest. They even interacted and hyped up the crowd and sometimes it wasn’t all 6 but just 2 dancers and then just 1 dancer. All displayed different types of dancing. I loved that. It was different and like I said before, kept our interest as it wasn’t just the same thing on stage. It consistently switched up. Another thing that I thought was so cool was the visuals in the background which beautifully matched and complimented the dancers and the strobe lights. There was a certain colour palette that was consistently showed through the lights, the visuals and the dancer’s costumes which I thought added to the effect and overall mood of Khalid’s concert experience. The neon colour palette was very aesthetic. But yeah, the visuals in the background were insane and constantly changed and was unique. At one point it was like 8 different video montages of Khalid and one where it was like he was in the clouds as it was showing the blue sky and it then went downwards like you were flying to the ground and then transitioned into showing skyscrapers. I feel like they chose perfect visuals in the background for certain songs. I think it elevated the experience of seeing him perform that song live, especially if that song has deep significance in your life. It was very creative and very artistic.

At the start, he sang a lot of his slow pop vibes. It definitely was mellow. Hearing ‘Saved’ live literally gave me goosebumps, it was something you really had to be there for in order to understand. The transitions between songs were so smooth and seamless. I just genuinely feel like the production of his show was so spot on. Then again, they did a show the night before so they had a practice round, but still. Khalid is such a dear. I loved the way he interacted with the crowd, smiling at people and doing the heart sign with his hands. I feel like there are certain artists/groups that consistently come to New Zealand and have a loyal fan base (i.e Denzel Curry and $UICIDEBOY$) and Khalid is definitely one of them. I look forward to seeing him again when he returns.

Reviewed: Breanna Tugaga-Rogers
Images: 10Daniel16

About The Writer:

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Breanna is a 21 year old uni student who was born in Australia and raised in South Auckland. Half New Zealand European and half Samoan, Breanna is undergoing a Bachelor of Arts, double-majoring in Communications and Sociology. Currently residing in Auckland, Breanna loves hip hop, rap, RnB music and enjoys watching TV shows, movies, travelling, going to concerts and keeping in touch with the latest of pop culture. Breanna especially enjoys writing and using it as an outlet to talk her sh*t. Breanna loves to always integrate her worldview, her background and her experiences into her writing and values your feedback.

About The Photographer:

10Daniel16 is a man of many talents. A photographer, videographer, editor and director, Daniel is a pillar in the local creative scene working with names like SWIDT, Melodownz and has shot some of the best gigs in Auckland city. 10Daniel16 has shot concerts of iconic musicians like 50 Cent, Jhene Aiko, Bas, Denzel Curry, Lil Pump and so much more. Popularly known for his music videos, 10Daniel16 is continuously expanding his skill set and since breaking through the international scene, he is excited for what 2020 has in store for him.