Teyana Taylor, known to the unenlightened as “Kanye West’s Protégé”, knows her shining worth. After the release of K.T.S.E. (Keep That Same Energy) in 2018, her name was in everyone’s mouth. The album oozed with passionate R&B ballads and a whole lot of confident sexuality, and Aussie fans have been dying to see how this would translate on a stage. Of course, Taylor exceeded expectation.
Arriving as part of Vivid LIVE Sydney’s run of incredible performances, Teyana’s night at the Joan Sutherland Theatre was her first ever performance on Australian shores. At one point in the night, tears were shed, with a visibly emotional Taylor saying, “I didn’t know y’all even knew who I was.”
DJ Mac Major opened the set, playing R&B classics to a crowd that literally started twerking on the seats. We were all clearly impatient for Teyana. The overwhelming energy and support were alive in the night, as everyone began to cheer each other on, the crowd slowly morphing into its own nightclub dancefloor before the concert had even truly begun.
Kicking the night off with a slew of throwback hits, including breakout single ‘Maybe’, and backed up by her hype-man and husband Iman Shumpert, there was not a single moment to even want to sit down. Taylor’s choreography was tight, her back up dancers moved like water, and not a single human being, including the drummer, looked even the slightest bit unattractive. Everything from the pounding bass to the dizzying snares was just pure sex.
Watch: Teyana Taylor ‘Issues/Hold On’
And the element of pure sex became literal once it was time to perform ‘3way’, one of Taylor’s less subtle tracks, but most definitely one of the crowd’s favourites. Taylor’s on-stage charm is palpable, and it resonated with everyone, especially when she was owning every inch of her sexuality through the music. Calling to the crowd saying, “where my hot ladies at?” Taylor searched for some audience participation, and for one lucky lady to receive a lap-dance to the aforementioned slow-winding jam.
Coincidentally the woman chosen was the same one twerking before the show began, due to the audience pointing her out for Teyana to see.
Slowly working her way towards the iconic ‘WTP’, in which Taylor vogued the house down and landed a perfect death-drop, by this point, the audience was fully alive. We were in the palm of Taylor’s hands, as she kept true to the promise of her album title, and kept the same energy the whole way through.
Ending the night with ‘Rose in Harlem’, Taylor proved to a sea of high expectations that the sexual prowess that pumps through her songs wasn’t just all talk. Emotions were brought, tears were shed, and the live vocals were simply right. Next time Taylor comes through for Australia, however long that may be, we will be patiently waiting to witness her in action once more.
