Lizzo
Oslo Spektrum Arena in Oslo, Norway
February 17, 2023
Review and photos by Nathalie Knudsen
On February 17th, Lizzo kicked off the European leg of her Special Tour with an incredible concert at Oslo Spektrum Arena in Oslo, Norway. Opening the show with The Sign, the first track off of her latest album Special, Lizzo appeared on stage in a pink, shimmering bodysuit, and the crowd instantly knew how great the rest of the evening would be.
PHOTO BY NATHALIE KNUDSEN / EDITED BY EMMI SOLLIE
Lizzo's music is fun, happy, and high energy, and it should come as no surprise that her concert would be exactly the same. Norwegians are a silent kind of people, yet I had a ringing in my ear all throughout the concert from all the loud screams and lyrics being sung at the top of people's lungs. At one point, during Cuz I Love You, Lizzo even stopped and just let the crowd scream out for her as she'd hit one of the song's big high notes. I already knew Lizzo was an incredible singer, but I was still taken aback by what a stunningly talented vocalist she really is. When so many of an artist's songs are upbeat-positive-danceable-radio hits, I think it can be easy for people to dismiss how talented the singer really is. And Lizzo not only delivered spectacular vocals, she also impressed the crowd with her dancing, twerking and her flute-playing (especially when she combined the latter two).
Lizzo interacted a lot with the crowd in between songs, even taking the time to give a shoutout to each individual section of the audience (by the section numbers, no less) and having the cameramen get people on the screen when she spotted them in the crowd and liked their outfit. At one point she even took a fan's BeReal, whilst stating that she didn't have the app herself as she was "too real for BeReal". Lizzo's general message of self-love was also very prominent during the show, and she even had the crowd close their eyes and say affirming statements to themselves at one point.
The set design was colorful and fun, and fit Lizzo perfectly. It featured a giant disco ball, strobe lights, rainbows and flowers, as well as fun nods and references to different song lyrics of hers. Such as a train labeled the "Bitch Say Less Express" that appeared during her performance of Everybody's Gay, referencing a lyric from the song. I personally thought it was hilarious when she brought out an enormous bag for the beginning of Grrrls, just to hand it over to her dancer for the line "Hold my bag, bitch, hold my bag", and then revealing a tiny tiny bag inside it (and with her being known for her tiny bags, I found that way too funny). Another memorable moment was the set design for Rumors, where a bunch of text messages appeared on the screen, reading out different real-life (and made-up) rumors about Lizzo. For Cardi B's rap they kept with the phone-theme and had her appear on a "FaceTime"-call, which would've been more fun if Cardi's video hadn't had a heavily edited filter on and if Cardi had been as enthusiastic as Lizzo was simultaneously on stage.
Overall, I had a lot of fun being in the crowd and thought the concert was so great. Everyone was happy, dancing and screaming all her lyrics, from start to finish. Her vocals were beautiful, and her dancers (her "big girls" as she called them) were so good and fun to watch as well. (I also wanna give her props for having an all female band, all female dancers, and both the DJ and the support act being women as well <3.)
PHOTOS BY NATHALIE KNUDSEN / EDITED BY EMMI SOLLIE
If you have the opportunity to catch Lizzo while she's on her Special Tour, I would hurry up and try and grab any remaining tickets: https://www.lizzomusic.com/tour
SETLIST
The Sign
2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)
Soulmate
Grrrls
Boys
Tempo (featuring Missy Elliot)
Rumors (featuring Cardi B)
Scuse Me
Naked
Jerome
Break Up Twice
Doo Wop (That Thing) (Mrs. Lauryn Hill cover)
Special
I’m Every Woman (Chaka Khan cover)
Like a girl
Birthday Girl
Everybody’s Gay
Water Me
Cuz I Love You
If You Love Me
Coldplay
Truth Hurts
I Love You Bitch
Good as Hell
[Encore]
Juice
About Damn Time
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