You can barely hear SZA at a SZA show.
Fans of the megawatt R&B star raise the volume at the first of three sold out shows.
When SZA arrives on stage, popping out of a raised turret dressed like a magical mermaid on top of an actual boat inside Spark Arena, her fans go apeshit.
When she struts down the runway stretching from one end of the venue to the other, performing passionately to cherry-picked members of the crowd, they lose it then, too.
When she speaks, they scream.
When she sings, they shriek.
When SZA begins playing another song, clumps of fans grab and shake each other, confirm that, no, this one is their favourite, and begin wilding out all over again.
There were moments at SZA’s Auckland show last night, one of three and the first of her nautical-themed new world tour, that things felt like they might explode, such was the audience’s exuberance and enthusiasm for her.
To confirm: a SZA show is a lot.
When she played her first big hit, the Travis Scott-starring ‘Love Galore’ that landed surprisingly early in the night, the volume of noise coming from the crowd forced fingers into the ears of many of those standing nearby.
When she sat down on her boat’s steps to sing ‘Blind’ and ‘Drew Barrymore’ – proving that, yes, her powerhouse vocals really do match her studio prowess, and at some points in the night, surpass it – fans acted like they might catch a wave and float away, such was their devotion.
When she swung around on a cannonball hanging from a rope during another tectonic-shifting vocal performance for ‘All the Stars’, it really did feel like she might be about to climb up into the night sky to grab hold of those twinkling lights and pass them out to the front rows.
It was always going to be like this.
That’s because SZA feels different to those other more aloof and distant R&B stars.
Her lyrics arrive raw, her themes feel real, and her emotions ring true. Yet, despite her growing status, the Grammy wins, and the cult-like devotion she demands, she never talks down to the crowd, or makes herself feel untouchable, or unreachable.
So there’s no point in a SZA show where it feels like she’s just going through the motions, just playing another song at just another show. That means there is never a good time to take a toilet break or grab another drink.
She is an enigma, an ethereal, engaging and charismatic presence, one so captivating it’s near-impossible to look away. Perhaps that’s why her tickets come at such a hefty price, and why they’re in such high demand.
But SZA has bonds with Aotearoa that are different to other visiting stars.
She has talked often about her 2018 show here, a January performance so spectacular she achieved something few others have been able to: make the now-dead Logan Campbell Centre seem like a special place to be.
So, once the words “The End” flashed up on screen and the credits began rolling after last night’s show, SZA returned to the stage to repeat that story again.
“It was the first time I’d felt energy like that,” she said, admitting that the reason her 2019 Spark Arena performance was cancelled was because she couldn’t sell enough tickets. “We sold it out three times now,” she beamed.
Then she began pointing at members of the crowd, those that had sung the most, yelled the hardest, knew every word and were completely in tune with her, inviting them to come backstage and continue hanging out after the show.
If you’re heading along to SZA’s shows on Monday or Tuesday, be warned: you might want to do some vocal warm-ups before you get there.
SZA is in fine voice, and you’re going to need to be too if you want to join her.
Media weren’t invited to cover SZA so if you’re wondering why there aren’t many reviews of her show around, that’s the reason. If you’d like to support my work, please consider upgrading your subscription. The more that do, the more I can do.
The FOMO is real, Chris. The FOMO is real.
I went on Monday. But the sound was muddy (just like the Stuff review said about Saturday). Why was it so expensive too? I go to many of the gigs in Spark or even huge like Eden Park (rock, pop, hip-hop, metal etc) - this was $250! Good visuals, but her singing was buried under the music. It’s not a hip-hop or r n b thing at Spark - Lizzo was clear as day vocally as was the rapper guy NF - both at Spark.