I had the honour of attending Shae Universe’s show at the O2 Institute Birmingham on 10th October. Although I was not well-versed in her music, her name had popped up on my Spotify many times. As an avid listener of R&B music, I was excited to experience the music of the British-Nigerian artist live.

Shae was accompanied by Letisha Gordon, a rising R&B artist and Birmingham native. Letisha cleverly opened her set with a medley of well-known R&B songs that prepared us for the soulful and sultry style of her original music. She flaunted her vocal power, showing the crowd she was more than qualified to perform alongside Shae.

Letisha effortlessly glided through runs when performing two unreleased and untitled original songs. Lastly, she performed ‘Heart Attack’, an upbeat heartbreak song. The performance picked up the energy in the crowd and had everyone dancing.

Her confidence on stage was impressive and unexpected for a budding artist. She consistently engaged with the crowd and her sweet, bubbly personality was hard not to love. Although the songs sounded slightly generic, Letisha’s confidence and vocal prowess made for an enjoyable performance. I look forward to witnessing her artistic growth.

Clearly, she meant it when she said, “I am gonna give you the performance of my life.”

As the opening chords to ‘No Stallin’’ played through the speakers, the crowd buzzed with excitement and phones popped up all around, eager to capture Shae’s entrance. I was stunned by the power of Shae’s voice and seemed to forget the long wait for her appearance. She effortlessly switched between velvety runs, a sharp falsetto and confidently rapping, all while whining to the music. Clearly, she meant it when she said, “I am gonna give you the performance of my life.” Her dynamic performance filled me with energy and excitement for the rest of the show.

The set was carefully constructed, taking us through Shae’s musical journey, from her rise in fame singing covers on Twitter to her latest release, Love’s Letters (Deluxe).

Beginning with her earlier music, Shae performed ‘Black Panther (In Due Time)’, a song that seems to merge jazz, hip-hop and R&B elements. Her vocal performance reminded me of Indie Arie. Her seamless switch to punchy rapping – something that happened multiple times throughout the performance – was impressive.

Shae performed a stripped-down cover of Kanye West’s ‘Ultralight Beam’ as an ode to her claim to fame performing covers on Twitter. Her performance showed her impressive vocal range. The power of her voice while singing beautiful runs and riffs resulted in a soulful, gospel-like rendition.

Shae then performed a few songs from her first project, Unorthodox. These songs showcased her R&Drill era, a defining moment of her career that led to her popularity in the British music scene. R&Drill is a sub-genre she created combining R&B vocals with drill beats and rap. Its impact was clear as the crowd loudly sang and rapped along to ‘Sit Back’, ‘Royalty’ and ‘Wicked Ways’.

Shae’s confidence shines in her stage presence and lyrics. Don’t be fooled by her tender voice, she is not one to be played with as she declares in ‘Wicked Ways’ – “You don’t want to catch me in your hood” and “I see right through your wicked ways’.

Her creativity and innovation were most prominent in ‘111’, an uplifting song that is, according to her, “about being in the right place, at the right time, all the time”. Her lyrics and voice bring an unexpected tenderness to a drill beat and create a unique listening experience.

Shae’s confidence shines in her stage presence and lyrics.

After a cover of D’Angelo’s ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel)’ came the Love’s Letters section of the show. Shae performed top tracks from the album such as ‘Summertime’ and ‘Passenger Princess’. ‘LOML’ needed no introduction, with the entire crowd (including myself) singing along and cheering Shae as she danced to the instrumental.

Shae’s explanations of the inspirations for some of her songs helped me understand Love’s Letters. The album explores different aspects of love such as the jump from romantic love to heartbreak shown in ‘LOML’ and ‘Oh Wait…’, and self-love in ‘More Than Enough’. Shae singing the affirmations in ‘What’s Luv’ directly to the audience shows that the album is also an expression of love to her fans. I wouldn’t have gained this understanding without witnessing the love between her and her fans that filled the room.

The show ended on an energetic note with ‘OOTW’. Shae drew on the sexiness of the song as she serenaded an audience member, leaning over the barricade and giving a seductive performance.

I entered the venue unfamiliar with her music and left as a big fan

I was especially lucky to attend Shae’s show in Birmingham. It was beautiful to be in a crowd of such passionate listeners. They appreciated Shae’s talent and overwhelmed her with love and applause throughout the show.

I entered the venue unfamiliar with her music and left as a big fan with a deep understanding of her music, her journey to success and the love she and her supporters share. As she said before she left the stage, “My name is Shae Universe. If you don’t know, get to (…) know.”

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