British pop singer Griff concluded her first-ever U.S. tour at the Fonda Theatre Sunday night with a joyous and moving slate of songs she has become known for over the past few years. The 21-year-old was named the Rising star at the 2021 Brit Awards and the momentum hasn’t slowed down, recording already with Sigrid, Zedd and Honne and performing just over a week ago alongside Sigrid on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Griff’s opening act was another burgeoning star, Lexi Jayde, who recently hit the jackpot on TikTok with new song “drunk text me”. The 19-year-old LA native played a rapid-fire nine songs in the opening set balancing her teenage and childhood years with her breakthrough into adulthood, receiving social media praise from singers Lizzy McAlpine, Katelyn Tarver and Tor Miller as well as producer Mike Sabath, who were all present at the show. Jayde started off with “Oldest Teenager”, trading off between her pretty head voice and falsetto, while donning a cream sport jacket unbuttoned with a black bra. The introspective songs continued with the 90s pop/rock song “Bedroom Walls”, her alto voice soaring on this one while joined by a drummer, guitarist and bassist. “I’m so glad to be back on stage, and in my hometown of Los Angeles,” greeted Lexi to her fans.
She continued, mentioning the crowd was one of the first to hear the unreleased song “Self-Sabotage” about a recent break-up. What starts off sound like a pop-rock ballad is actually an uptempo empowering anthem about self-love with the lyric “suffering through my toxic thoughts”. The bulk of Lexi Jayde’s songs sound like Gen Z singer-songwriter pop but there are many elements like that of 90s pop/rock singer-singers like Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette as well as early 2000s starlets Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch. One such standout was “Running In Place” which Lexi described was written about “being stuck doing the same thing every day during Covid”.
Jayde gave a shout to her co-songwriter Danny Spadaro who played guitar while the singer sat on the stage for the first verse of “If I Really Love You” and the crowd held up their phone flashlights during the beautiful ballad. Jayde pulled out her guitar for the first song she’s released since her heartbreak, “drunk text me”, the song that has impacted TikTok in a major way. It was the first time she played it live and the crowd knew the words and responded accordingly. She concluded with two more autobiographical songs including “Teenage Diary” about middle school relationship woes and “Newbury Park”, which earned mid-song clapping on the FU therapy song. Having already toured in support of Adam Melchor and written hit song “Frankenstein” for rising star Claire Rosinkranz, Lexi Jayde is for sure one to watch in both the artist and songwriting arenas.
An audio intro in Griff’s beautiful English accent played while she spoke about her music, setting the tone as the curtain went up. The stunning siren stood center stage decked out in a flowing black and white dress, boots and her extra-long pop pom ponytail. She radiated a glowing energy, appropriately kicking off her headlining set with a remixed instrumental of “One Foot In Front Of The Other”, the title track off her 2021 EP and then strutted on stage, taking in the optimistic feels of her pop anthem.
Griff was joined on stage by a drummer and keyboard player while the lights flickered in every color possible over pop banger “Forgive Myself” with the star center stage and arms out for part of the song while fans sang along and she moved all across the stage.
The star spoke briefly, thanking the crowd and said, “This was my first-ever American tour and it’s my final show”. Griff grabbed her guitar center stage and mentioned her voice was a little scratchy from the tour before announcing the next song “Walk”, sounding lovely on the bubbly, danceable pop song, that could very well be on an extended version of Taylor Swift’s 1989 (among several other songs).
Griff did a brief call-and-response moment of the hook of “1,000,000 x Better” on acoustic while her fans sang along before picking up the pop production with an incredible vocal. It’s one of her most perfect pop songs, even more uplifting and effervescent in a live setting with her band. Griff danced and spun around throughout the tune. Then our rising pop princess ventured over to the keys, bringing the mood down for the beautiful but dark, rhythmic piano song “Earl Grey Tea”, evoking moments of Lorde (more on that later too).
Recent hit “Head on Fire” brought the mood back, and it was one of the highlights of the show, with an incredible vocal and Griff taking in the physicality of the song on stage. If only duet partner Sigrid made a surprise appearance!
The mysterious, percussive mid-tempo “Heart of Gold” sounded even better live, with Griff’s super powerful vocal and she made a splash effortlessly mashing it up with Lorde’s “Royals”, while the fans sang along before Griff brought it back to her original track.
Griff was center stage again, spotlights zoomed in on her for perhaps her signature ballad, “Good Stuff” while her accompanist played the standout piano. Prior to the song, she talked about her family fostering children and how she remembers the best things about each kid even after they are gone. It struck an emotional chord for the crowd, highlighted by lovely vocal runs and cheers from fans on Griff’s final high notes.
The night was well-balanced with tempo and it was back up for the delightful, tropical-infused “Paradise”, with steel drum effects and addicting percussion as Griff swayed throughout the lively tune. Griff continued the uplifting vibes with a strong vocal on “Remembering My Dreams”.
Then Griff introduced “Shade of Yellow”, noting that “it’s a song about refuge and finding a home away from home”. She created vocal loops live in front of the audience, harmonizing while the crowd grooved during this feel-good tune, clapping by the song’s robotic ending. “I don’t think any artist envisions this kind of growth during a global pandemic”, stated Griff with gratitude, which of course welcomed applause.
Griff danced all over the stage under midnight blue/purple-hued stage wash for the dance-pop “One Night” while fans joined in on the lyrics and the dancing. She took center stage again, instrument in hand for the very catchy guitar ditty “Black Hole”, while the band joined in after a verse. Griff got on a a knee at one point for emphasis, singing her heart out on the dance-pop tune, enjoying her revelers jumping and singing along.
Griff starts back up in March touring all over Europe through much of the summer before joining Ed Sheeran for a few of his European dates in September. The multi-instrumentalist has quite a promising career ahead, proving her chops on piano and guitar; she emotes, she dances, she spins and it all fits somewhere in the musical universe between Taylor Swift and Lorde. Griff so cleverly pointed out during the middle of one song that some boyfriends were likely dragged to the show and probably had no idea who she is. Verdict is, everyone will soon know Griff: her tunes and welcome demeanor are for everyone.
All photos by Justin Higuchi.
