Troye Sivan and Charli xcx make the audience 'Sweat' with collaborative tour

Going to Charli xcx and Troye Sivan’s “Sweat Tour” ended up being one of the best last-minute decisions I ever made.

I, like many others, listened to Charli’s “BRAT” album over the summer and immediately became obsessed. It wasn’t at the top of my list for what to listen to with an overflow of new music being released, but I was intrigued by the unique cover design and was a fan of the “Von dutch a.g. cook remix featuring addison rae” remix (which I discovered initially through TikTok).

I worked at my local record store over the summer, and one of my responsibilities was to make sure music was always playing. I decided to play “BRAT,” and not long after, I was using my SeatGeek credit to purchase tickets to see Charli on tour.

My knowledge of the two artists was limited — I knew “BRAT” and Charli’s hits, but I wouldn’t have considered myself a superfan by any means. I’m definitely a bigger fan now than I was then; I like to stream someone’s discography non-stop before seeing them in concert.

When it came to Sivan, I knew even less. My prior knowledge of him and his music consisted exclusively of the “Saturday Night Live” sketch starring Timothée Chalamet and boygenius featuring Troye Sivan as a sleep demon dancing to his song “Got Me Started.” I started listening to his music more frequently before the show, too.

This show was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The flashing lights were almost blinding at points, and the stage was set up in a way where the screens were a crucial part of being able to understand what was happening in the show. I will admit, my seats weren’t great, but still, the screens were important.

After a fun opening performance from Shygirl, Sivan took the stage and started with none other than “Got Me Started.” Another unique thing about the duo’s show was that it wasn’t a full set from Sivan followed by a full set from Charli. Instead, Sivan came out and performed a few songs, followed by a few from Charli, then more back and forth. It was for sure a collaborative performance in almost every aspect.

Charli’s entrance was accompanied by a bright green “BRAT” curtain, and she began her set with a remix of “365” with Shygirl. She sang the full, solo version of the track later on in the set.

The show was also full of laugh-out-loud moments, such as Charli spitting on the stage followed by Sivan coming out and acting incredibly confused, and an animated video of Ariana Grande playing during “Dance to This,” a collaborative track between her and Troye. Charli also licked the stage during “Guess.”

A highlight for me was how they used the collaborations. For example, when it came to tracks like “Girl, so confusing” and “Guess,” Charli sang her parts, then had Billie Eilish and Lorde’s parts playing from the recorded track. It made the night even more fun, because the audience didn’t have to feel guilty about screaming the words and having the time of their lives when the artist wasn’t actually singing.

The two-hour concert was nothing short of fun and exciting moments, as well as absolute chaos. It is definitely a high-energy concert without a single dull moment.

The duo ended their main set with a performance of their collaboration, “1999.” They left the stage, returning to perform a five-song encore. They each performed two songs of their own, ending the night with a performance of their newest project together, their collaboration of “Talk Talk.”

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Nationwide Arena was transformed into an energy-filled sea of “BRAT” green for the evening, and I can’t imagine anything more fun. The “Sweat Tour” was, in fact, serving nothing short of “BRAT.”

Rating: 8/10

powers40@miamioh.edu