It’s been 10 years in the making, but finally Becky Hill, known for her powerhouse vocals and dance pop bangers, headlines an arena tour for the first time. All the way to the arena in Leeds, I’m met by cowboy hat-wearing groups of fans queuing excitedly to get their spot on the floor, fully intent on dancing their hearts out.
Compared to the festival set Hill toured around last summer, this is a more understated affair. Gone are the bright colours and troupe of dancers, and instead, in the early part of the show, she is accompanied simply by a drum kit and keys. A trio of backing singers, clad in black, blend into the background while the giant screens are responsible for bringing any sense of visual drama.
Stepping out in silhouette, hand raised aloft, Hill shouts “Leeds!!!” and the crowd erupts as she heads into a high energy opening salvo of True Colours (her recent collab with Self Esteem), before going all the way back to the start with her debut single Gecko. It’s a sign of things to come, and indeed, Hill had taken to social media earlier in the week to remind people that this was as much about the new material from her second album Believe Me Now, as it was the hit collaborations with dance giants David Guetta and Chase & Status.
As a result, those big hits were not saved up for the end of the show, and in the first half we hear the massive Crazy What Love Can Do, Back And Forth and Disconnect, her most successful release of the last couple of years.
The show focuses much more on Becky Hill and her voice, which at times, leaves her looking a little exposed on the massive arena stage. She alternates between the split levels, hitting the well rehearsed marks centre-stage and delivering her trademark vocals. The backdrop of LCD screens alternates between electrifying block colours, lightning storms and pastel coloured waterfalls but it’s the power of Hill’s voice that carries the crowd with her. Never any less than an honest performer, she reaches out with real authenticity to the crowd, particular in the mid-section of the show where a rotating B-stage allows Hill to get closer to the crowd and, with just a piano, show why she’s one of the strongest vocalists on the dance-pop scene right now.
Back on the main stage, we hear 7 consecutive songs from the new record, each reflecting a more challenging period in Hill’s life, showcasing a songwriter who wears her heart on her sleeve. The record is darker, moodier than her previous work, a more mature sound that gently veers away from the Radio 1 bubblegum dance production that threatened to overshadow her own presence on those records. On occasion, the different tone takes the energy down a little, but then we are seeing a different side to an artist who is still developing and finding out who she is. As we head toward the end of the show though, we are reminded that Becky Hill still knows how to party.
It is a testament to her back catalogue from the last decade that, despite having front-loaded the set with some huge tunes, she still has gigantic encore up her sleeve. My Heart Goes, Wish You Well and the massive David Guetta collaboration Remember close out the show, and demonstrate just why we should expect to see Becky Hill packing out arenas for many years to come.
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