Featured image and gallery: Gracie Hall
Australian three-piece, Blusher, set the stage for the evening with their dream pop vocals and mesmerising dance moves. With original songs like ‘Dead End’ and ‘Softly Spoken’ and covers of Nelly Furtado’s ‘Say it Right’ and ‘Love at First Sight’ by fellow Aussie, Kylie Minogue. A set full of glittery, girlie pop beats and lyrics about female friendships that perfectly represent the clear chemistry between the members on stage.
Standing at 6 feet 10 inches, Daði Freyr draws the crowd in with his wit and brooding vocals. With a huge inflatable version of himself behind him, he asks the crowd to repeat ‘football’ back at him. To his delight they comply.
Despite the audience mainly knowing the artist through Eurovision, they groove and move to every song. From the Icelandic part-rap ‘Kemur þér ekki við’ on his 2019 & Co. album, to the whimsical synth of ‘Trying’, the barely 60-word song that highlights the personal struggle of just trying. There’s even the German language song, ‘Bitte’, which is reminiscent of the Berlin techno scene.
Going into the first Eurovision hit of the evening, ’10 Years’, the crowd comes alive and sings every lyric to the heartwarming love song. After a few more euro dance tunes, Daði launches into ‘Think About Things,’ his Eurovision’s mega hit from 2020. Elated, the crowd ascends into full voice
Daði begins his encore with an acoustic rendition of McFly’s ‘Obviously’, in homage to Bolton born lead singer, Danny Jones, followed by a funky upbeat rendition of Atomic Kitten’s ‘Whole Again’ to seal off a high energy, fun filled evening.
Daði Freyr @ Manchester Academy
Blusher @ Manchester Academy
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Beautifully written and amazing pictures