By Emily Thornton

Billie’s hit me hard and soft tour was sold out at the O2 for six nights in a row and it’s clear why.

I have previously seen her at the O2 on her Happier Than Ever tour, which was both engaging and entertaining. Whilst she kept these performance aspects, the production value has greatly improved – creating a far more intimate and energetic show. She deliberately designed this tour for arenas, having her stage in the centre of the floor, and a smaller one off to the side. To some this may seem like a menial decision, but this allowed her to perform to every single person – no one was left at the back of the arena; choosing between seeing a speck on the stage or watching the big screens the whole time. Her central stage allowed for so much more barricade space (which I did secure), amping up the crowd interaction and meaning there was much less pushing and shoving from fans trying to get a closer view. Her set list also accommodated for old and new fans, perfectly blending her albums ‘When we all fall asleep where do we go‘, ‘Happier than ever’, while still having the whole ‘Hit me hard and soft’ album present. I was ecstatic to sing and hear songs of hers’ which I hadn’t listened to for a while, the crowd shared in my excitement and enthusiasm as I barely saw anybody who wasn’t singing along.

Her genius stage craft continues when she performs ‘Guess.’ She pops out of a smaller stage towards the back of the arena, performing primarily to the back which is furthest away from her main stage. Although there were many rumours in the crowd of her supposedly bringing out Charli XCX for this song, there was little disappointment when she didn’t. Especially because she does a barricade walk when returning to the main stage. The build up to this walk was very suspenseful! You could feel everyone behind you, anxious to see her up close, and maybe hold her hand. Not only did I secure the barrier, but she also grabbed my arm when she very quickly walked through the barriers! To my surprise, she was not sweaty, and did not seem scared with everyone reaching their arms to try and touch her hands, (personally I would have been quite apprehensive). This added so much energy to my section of the crowd, and everyone was excitedly screaming as she continued sprinting back to the stage.

Although there were many rumours in the crowd of her supposedly bringing out Charli XCX for this song, there was no disappointment when she didn’t

Her enthralling stage presence was amplified by her visual effects, which were musically dynamic and adapted to each song’s intensity. Most notably in ‘NDA’ the strobe lights went off at the perfect moment during the bridge – making the song more powerful and electrifying. This was maintained throughout the whole concert, with the colours of the lights changing with the album. So, white for ‘Happier Than Ever’ and blue for ‘Hit me hard and soft’. During multiple moments she would also float in the air on a box, which was extremely cool and made the concert much more engaging and surprising. The big screens corresponded with the box; shortening for when she was in the air, to create a view for people sitting high up, and expanding when she was on the ground.

Billie also utilised her aura during ‘When the party’s over,’ where she got the whole arena to be silent while she looped her voice to create the backing vocals. Which was so impressive to see that she was actually singing live, but also reminded people of the live band who played every song with her and had great energy. Her ability to transition between mellow songs and high-energy tracks created a balanced emotional pacing tailored to each album, reflecting how fans weren’t just there for one specific album but for all of Billie’s music. A small detail which reflected this was the confetti being in the shape of a Blohsh, this made the concert feel much more personalised to her brand and more intentional. At first, it felt like not much had changed since the last tour—I went with my sister again, ended up with a great spot again—but Billie’s performance skills have seriously improved. The whole set felt more dynamic and emotionally charged, which made the show way more memorable. It’s clear she’s grown as a performer, and this tour easily puts her up there with some of the best live acts I’ve seen.

Image Credit: Emily Thorton