Read Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s recent interview with Tove Lo here.
Exuding style and confidence, Tove Lo signalled she was ready to give her all when she strode onto the stage at Auckand Town Hall on Thursday night.
The Swedish singer took fans on a journey through her biggest songs during her New Zealand showcase at Elemental Nights. Two thousand of her biggest admirers packed into the iconic concert chamber eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of her talent for themselves.
Showing off her typical daring style, Tove appeared in a pink corset, silver shorts and matching knee-high boots, launching into “Pineapple Slice” and “Attention Whore” – both from her fifth album, Dirt Femme.
She effortlessly worked her way around the small space across the stage in front of her band who were elevated on a platform behind her.
When it came time for “Cool Girl”, the crowd echoed the words back in her direction, prompting her to bellow: “You sound so beautiful Auckland.”
She took her first opportunity to chat with fans, promising the night would be an opportunity to dance, cry and do both at the same.
“Hey Auckland,” she said. “What an honour it is to bring you the Dirt Femme tour.”
Tove moved carefree across the stage, diving into her electronic pop tune “2 Die 4” before disappearing from sight, handing the reigns over to the band who were able to keep the crowd moving with an extended upbeat interlude.
By the time she returned for “Talking Body”, the absence could be explained by the undoubted intricacies it took to get into her second outfit – a slick black mesh one piece, which she recently described to me as “pantyhose across your whole body.”
Image: Tove Lo Credit: Tom Grut
Tove had such strong stage presence. She knew how to keep up the pace of the show while making her fans feel like she was there especially for them. At one point, she jumped into the photo pit to get a closer look at the front room, where she found a pride flag and held it up to the crowd.
She made her way through “I Really Don’t Like You” and “Disco Tits” before launching into pop ballad “Moments” – a classic from her first album which holds a special place in the hearts of many fans.
The true magic came when the tempo slowed with just a piano for more meaningful, softer moments. The “True Romance” video clip played, featuring the star walking along a dark road at night, and we finally got to see her incredible range delivered with breathtaking power.
She passionately performed “Grapefruit”, opening up about her experience with an eating disorder; she also shared that she was initially uncertain about releasing something so personal, but was so proud that she had.
A brief interruption threatened to disrupt the flow of the night when Tove had to bring up the house lights to make sure everyone in the crowd was fine.
“No fighting, all love,” she pleaded before launching into “Suburbia”, quickly bringing the vibe back up.
“Do you wana hear something unreleased?” she asked, before sharing her new tune “Elevator Eyes”, co-written with New Zealand producer Joel Little. “I like Kiwis apparently,” she said with a smirk – a nod to her husband.
When she pretended to leave the stage, the crowd cried out for more, with Tove returning to belt out a beautiful, stripped back rendition of “Dancing on My Own” by her fellow Swede, Robyn. “That song will be my eternal obsession,” she revealed.
Tove closed out the night with her vibrant dance hit “I Like U”, before dropping the anthem which had launched her global career.
Very much the highlight of the evening, as the first two words played out, phones flipped into the air to capture clips of the endlessly popular “Habits”.
As she finished the night with “No One Dies From Love”, Tove thanked her fans for their support and left the stage with a contagious smile reflected in the faces staring back at her.
