Photo: WENN.com
With two stellar support acts opening for Katy B’s only headline show of the year, the gig at Somerset House was a rammed bill.
Ms Dynamite took to the stage armed with her sure-to-please singles and bundles of energy. She rapped the lyrics with ease, but was willing to let the backing track do the singing, as her live vocals rarely match up to her recordings. The typical British weather did all it could to dampen everyone’s spirits, but Ms Dynamite managed to get everyone dancing and successfully warmed up the audience.
Devlin followed, proving why he’s one of the most hyped up-and-coming British rappers. He played with a full band and a backing singer, who covered the female vocals for him. Devlin treated the crowd to some tracks from his new album and closed his set with Watchtower, promising we’d be hearing a lot more of his new single very soon.
Katy B delivered an incredible set, mixing her better-known dance tracks with slower ballads that showcased her unbeatable vocals. The usual hits got an airing, such as 'Movement', 'Perfect Stranger' and 'Broken Record', but she wasn’t afraid to calm it down for a couple of songs. She stripped down 'Go Away' and stood, singing her heart out, to a crowd completely in awe of her. 'Disappear' was given a similar treatment and received an equally fantastic reception.
Never shy to give a nod to her influences, Katy B sampled a few tracks during her set, singing over the beat from 'Bonkers' by Dizzee Rascal and turning 'Sweet Dreams' by the Eurythmics into a dubstep dance tune worthy of any dancefloor.
For 'Easy Please Me', Katy B said she’d need a man from the audience to help her. The chosen chap was placed on a chair in the middle of the stage, handed a drink and treated to a song and dance from the songstress before she declared he couldn’t please her and dismissed him.
Saying she’d been hibernating in her studio, Katy B debuted new track 'Crying For No Reason', which got its first performance at Somerset House.
At one point Katy B fluffed the first few lines to another new track, but the audience were forgiving and she tried again.
With the Olympics approaching, it was no surprise that she performed 'Anywhere In The World', which she recorded with Mark Ronson. The song doesn’t stand up to her other tracks, but it’s easy to appreciate the skill behind recording the sounds of different athletes and turning it into a song.
Katy B knows exactly how to pump up the crowd: a battle with her DJ was a highlight of the night. Calling upon the audience to treat the gig like a rave, inflatable balls were thrown offstage and we were treated to a laser show that put the Shard to shame. Her fans were asked to vote who had the better song choices, but of course Katy B won because, as she said, it was her gig.
Katy B kicked off her encore with another new song called 'Hot Like Fire' and ended the night with 'Lights On'. It was disappointing that Ms Dynamite didn’t join Katy B onstage for the song they recorded together, but it didn’t dampen the success of the night.
She played for over an hour, but it felt like the crowd could have continued well into the early hours of the morning.
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