Review: Foxes brings a playful performance to the closing night of her tour
- 26-year old Foxes stakes her claim to play bigger venues
- Despite mistaking Birmingham for Brighton, Foxes puts on a flawless popstar performance
An explosion of pop, synths and glamour hit Birmingham’s O2 Academy this month when Foxes gave a playful performance on the closing night of her tour, with a little help from supporting act Izzy Bizu.
Izzy Bizu
Opening tonight’s performance was South London artist, Izzy Bizu, who raised to fame after being spotted at an open mic night in Camden. With her soulful voice and feel-good pop songs, it would be easy to compare the singer to Corrine Bailey Rae or Lianne La Havas, however Izzy’s exuberant performance teamed with her breezy, cheerful songs is what sets this 21-year-old apart. It was the artist’s first official single, ‘Apple and Eve’ that really got the crowd excited at tonight’s Birmingham gig however. With its subtly intoxicating chorus of “strangers, Adam and Eve getting strangers”, the crowd showed their appreciation by singing and dancing along. From performing ‘What Makes Me Happy’, a laid back song that is brought to life by a booming drum beat, to covering Amy Winehouse’s ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’, Izzy captivates her audience with her husky, powerful voice and clear passion for the songs she sings. It was her latest single, ‘White Horse’, that really showcased the potential Izzy has though – a fun and playful soul-pop song performed by a dancing Izzy who oozed stage presence effortlessly, this singer should be on your one-to-watch list.
Foxes
Headlining the show was 26-year-old Foxes and the star, with her energetic stage presence and optimistic performance, made it impossible not to fall a little bit in love with her catchy electro-pop tunes. Opening up with ‘Holding Onto Heaven’, Foxes started as she intended to go on, combining a stellar vocal performance with an animated stage manner, ensuring that the crowd was always involved. It was when the artist performed her first single, ‘Youth’, that she really resonated with the eager crowd though. The song provoked a sea of swaying arms and video phones desperate to capture the moment, as well as a mass sing-a-long and even a few hecklers screaming “I love you”.
Foxes
After a rapturous round of applause, the ecstatic popstar announced “Birmingham, I think tonight is going to be really fun”, before bursting into ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me Now’, a song with a dramatic drum beat, the kind that vibrates the body, and anthemic chorus. Whilst the Southampton singer’s earlier songs are captivating, it was her more recent material that highlighted her budding, prospective career. With ‘Body Talk’, the song is more dance than sugar-sweet pop, and the melody naturally lends itself to an even more energetic performance from Foxes. Similarly, ‘Cruel (Bound To You)’, a song that the singer only premiered three days earlier in Nottingham, has an infectious beat that will most certainly be a hit on dancefloors up and down the country. It was Foxes final song, and current single, ‘Better Love’, that received the biggest praise from the crowd, with its repetitive lyrics and pop-synth melody.
Foxes
With only a slight blip in tonight’s performance (“Come on Brighton, I mean Birmingham”), Foxes is everything you’d expect from a popstar. Bright, engaging and infuriatingly catchy, it won’t take long before the young star graduates from medium venues to sell-out arenas.
Photographs by Paul Reynolds
View the full set here.
