One of the few bright spots of the early days of the pandemic was genre chameleon Rina Sawayama dropping her debut album “Sawayama.” As weeks became months while trapped inside, the genre-hopping LP gave listeners an audio passport, effortlessly jumping from Gaga-style pop to the late ’90s guitar chug of Korn on singles like “STFU!” and “XS.” While the rest of the album dips into more traditional pop music exercises, those two songs almost dare listeners: Can you keep up with this winning mashup of turn-of-the-century indulgence?
Cut to 2022 and her “Dynasty” tour, which wrapped up with a sold-out Friday show at New York’s Terminal 5 and feels like a victory lap from an artist whose fame hit while no one left the house. Her profile has grown since the first record — collaborating with the likes of Lady Gaga and Charli XCX, booking a role in the new “John Wick” movie, walking in runway shows and even recording a cover of “Enter Sandman” for a Metallica tribute album — but her live set was tightly constructed to show her absolute control and ascension into pop stardom.
Flanked by two dancers, a guitar player and drummer, Rina controlled the room with the confidence of a pro running a greatest hits setlist, not a breakout artist touring her first full-length. Opener “Dynasty” unleashed screaming and chanting from the audience so deafening that Sawayama paused several times between songs, seemingly overwhelmed by her faithful fans and unable to find a lull to begin the next song. “STFU!” came next and found the crowd gleefully screaming to “Shut the fuck up!” on the infectious kiss-off chorus. Singles and b-sides alike kept the audience ignited, from the skillful pop of “Comme Des Garçons (Like the Boys)” and “Snakeskin” to slower moments with belted choruses, like the reflective “Bad Friend” and “Chosen Family,” the latter sung while the openly pansexual singer waved a pride flag that made it up to her from the crowd.
Sawayama’s stage presence and costume changes evoked ’90s idols like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, with plenty of throwback choreography, and one butterfly crop top / low rise jeans combo that felt like a time machine back to Carson Daly-era “TRL.” Despite dancing nonstop, her vocals still sounded crisp, even on some of the more nuanced vocal runs and high notes. Plus touches of her personality came through while paying tribute to her pop ancestors, from an extended choreographed headbang in “STFU!” to a blindingly active light display which evoked a rave, even during slower numbers.
After an encore consisting of her clubbiest songs, “Lucid” and the Gaga collaboration “Free Woman,” Sawayama announced that next week will be the start of her new pop era. If “Catch Me in the Air” — a soaring anthem of a new song she previewed earlier in the night — is any indication, it will be just as triumphant as the “Dynasty” tour.
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