More about: Tems

Tems playing a sold-out gig on the hottest day EVER in London. Coincidence? I think not.

The Nigerian star brought all the heat to Camden on Tuesday night, with a 90 minute set full of groovy Afro-beat bops and sultry ballads.  She starts the evening off with a sobering ‘Higher’ which you’ve probably unconsciously heard all over Tik Tok after it was sampled on Future and Drake’s ‘WAIT FOR U’. This viral success shows during the section of the song where the crowd belt it back the loudest - which is almost deafening. This Koko show was rescheduled a month later from it’s original date due to the singer contracting a nasty bout of laryngitis but it’s clear that all the vocal rest paid off. Tems hits every riff and run effortlessly.

Switching from the mellow intro, Tems breaks into her more upbeat songs ‘Damages’ and ‘Replay’ as she continues to ooze confidence on stage, throwing her body around without missing a beat. All these moves take their toll as the heat clearly gets too much for Tems. Although the Koko air-con is air-conning pretty well, she demands scissors to be brought on stage to cut the sleeves of her gorgeous blue dress off - an impromptu on-stage wardrobe change, which you have to consider pretty rockstar considering the 40 degree climate.

The show is broken by a semi-awkward intermission that goes on a little too long but is quickly forgotten as Tems returns to the stage with even greater energy than the first half.  She performs early singles ‘Mr. Rebel’ and ‘Look Looku’, livening up the most loyal, day-one Tems fans in the room before launching into the Adele co-signed ‘Try Me’. Every track is matched with a new vibrant block colour of stage lighting - a cheeky bit of synesthesis for the audience to relish in.

As the themes of her tunes span from the dark depths of heartbreak to the joys of falling in love, there is evidently a Tems song for everyone. The room is filled with an apt mix of loved-up couples and singles that are going through it, all with a shared agenda to sing their hearts out. These hearts are thoroughly sung out as Tems breaks into her indisputable banger with Wizkid ‘Essence’ - the track that truly launched the star into mainstream recognition. She begins the track with a slower acoustic rendition of the chorus before speeding it up into the summer bop everyone knows and loves. 

She closes the night with the groovy and attitude-heavy ‘Crazy Tings’ followed by the reflective and self-assured ‘Free Mind’. It’s pretty easy to comprehend why the biggest names in music are clawing for a feature from her - Tems is undoubtedly beyond talented.  Not to mention, the fact she is selling out London shows in a heartbeat with only a handful of singles and two EPs released. It’s clear that the future is very VERY bright for Tems, with many more sold out shows to come. 

See the photos by Fabiola Bonnot below:

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More about: Tems