Kicking off her joint tour with pop star Troye Sivan, Charli XCX showed us that, yes, she is all about throwing parties.
Releasing her first full album in 2013, Charli XCX is no stranger to the music industry. However, after the smash-hit success of her summer album BRAT, Charli XCX has reached an unprecedented level of popularity. With a multitude of empowering, dynamic tracks on the neon-green release, Charli XCX’s music has permeated most areas of the internet, capturing attention and affection.
Paired with Sivan—an artist who makes music leaning on the more romantic and pensive side of pop—Charli XCX is currently embarking on the Sweat Tour. Similar to his counterpart, Sivan has been releasing songs since the mid-2010s and is now experiencing a particular high point in his career after his 2023 album Something To Give Each Other.
Beginning on Sept. 14, the autumn tour kicked off at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
As a dedicated Angel (a Charli XCX fan) who most definitely knows Charli XCX will be her top Spotify artist of the year, and as someone who has loved Sivan’s discography since age 12, I knew that this concert was a must-see. Especially because, compared to most other concerts in 2024, tickets were relatively inexpensive.
Thus, on opening night, I found myself amongst the seemingly endless swarm of BRAT-green-clad Gen Zers and Millennials, waiting in line to enter the sizable venue. Dressed in my Charli XCX-inspired outfit (the “CELEBRITY” baby tee was on point, in my opinion), my friends and I anxiously—but excitedly—entered the overwhelming arena.
The show was opened by Shygirl, an English DJ and songwriter who has a similar air to that of Charli XCX and Sivan. Taking the stage at 7:30 p.m., she performed an approximately 30-minute opening set. While I have few negative comments about her performance itself, there wasn’t much crowd enthusiasm strengthening her act. As to be expected with most opening sets, attendees were still shuffling in and finding their seats as she was performing.
It didn’t seem like a large part of the audience who were watching knew any of her songs either. As a result, most onlookers seemed to be just bobbing up and down to the beat without singing along. Nonetheless, a few of her songs—notably, “4eva” and “Nike”—swayed some spectators into the dancing mood, even if they couldn’t join in singing.
Following a 40-minute break post-Shygirl performance, colored, flashing lights signified the beginning of the main act. The words “Troye” and “Charli” flashed across the arena’s screens, quickly replaced by “SWEAT.” As anticipation to see the celebrities grew, so did the volume in the venue. Having imagined this night since purchasing tickets in the first sweltering days of the summer, I anxiously scanned the stage, squinting to try and catch sight of either musician.
After the dramatic introduction screens, lights began to flash sporadically—a reoccurring pattern throughout the show. As advertised outside of the venue, the show was not the place for anyone with sensitivity to intense luminosity.
To the track “Got Me Started” from Sivan’s latest album, backup dancers dramatically entered the stage. In time for the first verse, Sivan emerged from the shadows, singing.
While I love both Sivan and this song, I have mixed feelings about the literal notes the concert began on. The production team undoubtedly established a sense of suspense before the artists debuted, but the concert likely could’ve been kicked off with a more energetic track. It makes sense that Charli XCX would be second to debut after Sivan, being slightly more popular than her partner at the moment, but a dual-entrance still could have been employed. Especially because Sivan tends to—when set in comparison with the Charli XCX of the BRAT era—lean less extrovertedly.
As Sivan sang his first three songs on stage, I couldn’t help but wonder if the concert would be sectioned off by artist. (Meaning that Sivan would perform his complete set, followed by Charli XCX performing her complete set, with minimal transposing of the two.) However, just as I started to seriously question this possibility, Charli XCX took the stage herself. The audience’s attention flipped to the pop princess as Sivan slipped into the stage’s shadows.
The crowd screeched and hollered as giant, neon-green curtains announced Charli XCX’s presence. As massive sheets of the BRAT album cover dropped, she materialized to her electronic hit, “365.” A personal favorite from her latest album and a song that—objectively—uplifts its listeners, BRAT’s concluding track was ironically the perfect track for her to enter with.
From here, it was understood that the two artists would take rotating turns performing their respective music. Each singer’s act would consist of one to three songs, presumably allowing the other performer a brief rest (or quick change) between sets. Each time Charli XCX appeared to give Detroit her all, Sivan would follow with an equally impassioned act.
While I cannot speak for the entire arena, I enjoyed the artists’ variation. The rotations ensured that the show felt anything but monotonous and let each performer have their separate time in the spotlight.
On the whole, the audience seemed to be slightly more enthusiastic about Charli XCX than Sivan, particularly when she played the songs from her summer album.
Likely due to a mix of my personal affection for the songs and the crowd’s raging zeal, “360” and “365” were some of the most fun of the night. With beats that are easy to dance—or jump—to, the arena felt charged with energy when the tracks’ beats thrummed through the space.
Similarly, when Charli XCX played some of her widely popular, older songs, the arena’s atmosphere was at its peak. Specifically, “I Love It” by Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX, a song that didn’t even cross my mind as one she would play, gave rise to extreme crowd mania. More than anything, this reflected the simple principle that the audience makes or breaks a concert. Even though I wouldn’t consider Charli XCX’s early hits to be personal favorites, the songs were some of the most fun to experience live due to the involvement of virtually the entire crowd.
Perhaps due to XCX’s British accent, or the fact that her songs are faster-paced than Sivan’s, it was difficult to make out the words she was singing. But Sivan was not the picture of clarity either—at various points throughout the night, both musicians would take breaks in performing to yell at the crowd to get excited, to clap along, or to show some other measure of enthusiasm. Despite their best intentions, almost everything they yelled just sounded like indistinguishable gibberish followed by “DETROIT!”
Despite the excitement Charli XCX drummed up, Sivan brought quite the energy himself. Personally, I liked Sivan’s sections slightly more than Charli XCX’s because I found them easier to sing along to.
However, disappointingly, many audience members seemed to not know Sivan’s songs, making the arena’s ambiance more amusing when Charli XCX was on stage. In spite of this, everyone did seem to know the words to Sivan’s track, “Rush,” making it one of the most energetic and exciting of the evening.
With visual effects that mirrored the extravagance of the volume, even as a non-light-sensitive person, I was affected by the extreme, radiant lighting. So much so that, at one point, I looked over at my friend only to find that my image of him was warped, moving in and out in unrealistic ways.
Like virtually any concert, watching the jumbotrons was inevitable. This is debatably one of the worst elements of live music, but I didn’t end up disliking watching the screens as much as usual. Contrary to the mundane panos that most artists show, Sivan and Charli XCX were filmed so that the footage looked like a vintage film rather than just a concert recording. Nonetheless, while filming the concert for the screens made it so that all attendees could see the performances, I do wish there would’ve been slightly less reliance on the cinematography.
This is by no means specific to the Sweat Tour. It seems like at every large concert, artists are increasingly focused on singing into cameras rather than singing directly to the audience. On the whole, both Charli XCX and Sivan appeared present and in the moment, but there were times when it felt like they were performing more for the cameras than for the crowd.
At various points during their performances, the two musicians would walk under the stage (typically joined by backup dancers) where the audience couldn’t see them. While the experience would’ve undoubtedly been different if I had been standing in the pit where it was possible to see under the stage, being in a section with seats, I had no sight of the singers. The whole scene had a similar atmosphere to that of a music video, and, like on YouTube, all I could do was watch the screen.
Another slight grievance I have with the show revolves around their minimal filming of the audience. Aside from a singular moment where Charli XCX showcased a young girl doing the TikTok dance to her popular song, “Apple,” the audience was not featured on the jumbotrons.
With cameras constantly capturing footage of the singers, showcasing some of the diehard fans would’ve been an appealing element to include (if it isn’t obvious, I wanted to be featured on-screen). In addition, displaying some of the concert attendees on the jumbotrons would’ve helped to make the show feel like a more symbiotic experience, rather than the audience just watching Charli XCX and Sivan perform.
While no surprise guest stars were brought in (though I was secretly hoping Lorde would make an appearance to sing with Charli XCX during “Girl, so confusing”), Charli XCX played the remixed versions of her tracks with features from other artists. Similarly, Sivan performed “Dance To This (feat. Ariana Grande),” which included a video of a cartoon of Grande singing. While I understand that Grande couldn’t physically be there to perform, playing a video of her animation was peculiar, as it was incongruous with the rest of the concert.
While the pair played most of their popular songs, there were a few I was surprised were omitted. Notably, I expected “Boom Clap,” “Break the Rules,” “Mean girls,” and “Spring breakers,” all by Charli XCX, to be included in the setlist. As for Sivan, I was slightly surprised that “Strawberries & Cigarettes” and “Angel Baby” were skipped.
About three-quarters of the way through the rave—though I thought it was the finale, Sivan and Charli XCX disappeared. As the stadium’s lights came on, breaking the concert’s spell of enchantment, the audience screamed thunderously louder in response. Turning on our phone flashlights to wave above our heads, we screeched, “CHARLI, WE WANT YOU BACK!” and, to much astonishment, the pop star returned to the stage.
Shocking me, she reappeared to emotionally execute “Track 10,” one of her older, more “underground” songs. Ironically, the entire day, my friends and I had been joking about how she “was going to play” the ethereal track, not thinking there was a chance she would break out the Pop 2 banger.
While I’m not entirely sure just how much of the arena was familiar with the song, it served as the perfect song to play as an intermission between the first parts of the show and the stunning conclusion.
The final quarter of the show was the most charged of the night, with the singers bringing out the crowd’s favorite tracks. As I expected, Charli XCX and Sivan ended the show with “1999” and “Talk talk featuring troye sivan,” two of the tracks they’ve collaborated on. Being that they were performing in tandem, it was an ideal, high-energy denouement (especially because Sivan’s verse in “Talk talk” is one of the most adrenaline-inducing parts of the entire BRAT catalog).
After seeing Charli XCX and Sivan together, I can confidently say that the concept of multiple singers going on tour together should be used more frequently. Sivan and Charli XCX’s comradeship undoubtedly contributed to their ability to put on a stellar show together, something that could be echoed by some of the music industry’s other most iconic duos.
On the whole, the Sweat Tour was an appropriately named rave. Charli XCX and Sivan brought such energy to the concert that—despite being in an unfortunately lame section—was impossible not to be influenced by. Virtually the entire show, I felt at risk of falling over the seats in front of me, and onto other attendees because of how much jumping the whole ordeal required. Moreover, it was quickly discovered that keeping any items in my pockets was impossible.
Even wearing jewelry was out of the question, as my necklace completely vanished within the first few songs of the evening. An oversized, glass heart pendant, the piece went flying into the arena’s abyss—sadly, never to be seen again.
While I’m not sure how many others had similar wardrobe complications, the venue had no shortage of fashionably appareled attendees. With virtually all 13,000 concert-goers dressed in their most chaotic, stylish outfits, it was no surprise that there was no shortage of looks I adored. However, amidst the excess of mini skirts, neon green tank tops, and fishnets, the items that impressed me most were the matching shirts reading, “Brat but we couldn’t afford actual merch.”
On the adjacent subject of official merchandise, I was slightly disappointed by the items being marketed at the venue. Aside from each artist’s solo products (which have been available on their websites previously), there were zip-up hoodies and T-shirts available for purchase. On the black hoodies and T-shirts, “SWEAT” was typed across the front, and tour information filled the back. Alternatively, there were reversible, white T-shirts that were labeled “SWEAT” with either Charli XCX’s or Sivan’s name, depending on which side was worn facing outwards.
The garments were not inherently ugly, but I think there was wasted potential. With so many iconic lines, references, and graphics from the duo’s careers, the collection felt mediocre. Especially when considering the high prices of items that could be easily DIY-ed (for example, the “365 PARTYGIRL” shirt that could be produced by an averagely artistic person, glue, black letters, and a white tank top).
Even so, while decision fatigue prevented me from making any substantial purchases at the actual concert, I will likely be purchasing an item of merchandise in the near future.
The next day—after a tumultuous night’s sleep in which my concert adrenaline overpowered my immense exhaustion—all I wanted to do was relive the concert. While the anticipation I had for the evening, slowly accumulating over a few months’ course, was mountainous, the show lived up to my expectations. From the therapy of letting out any and all pent-up energy I harbored to the surprisingly appetizing food of the arena, I would, if possible, return to the Sweat Tour in an instant.
I’m thankful I got to attend the tour’s opening night without any knowledge of what was to come. With no evidence of what was to come next, the direction of the performances was uncertain, with seemingly endless possibilities on the table.
Still mourning the passage of the concert, I am now searching for another artist’s tour that would match the vibrancy of Charli XCX’s and Sivan’s show. However, for now, all I can do is fall in love again and again with my experience at the astounding Sweat Tour.
