The American singer-songwriter had the audience shouting along to her catalogue of hits
Is this reality…or a huntastic fever dream?
Anastacia, dressed in a gold jacket, tinted sunglasses and skinny jeans, is strutting down the stage belting out One Day In Your Life.
She has a large gold chain attached to her belt hook.
Is she aware this look is pretty dated? Yes, probably. Does she care? Hell no!
Anastacia is 58 but looks like she’s about 20 years younger. With skin that good, I probably wouldn’t care either.
I have officially died and gone to noughties ‘power rock’ heaven.
The singer is performing at the 02 Apollo as part of the UK leg of her #NTK (Not That Kind) tour. And boy is she bringing the energy.
The gig is packed with her famous tunes, which propelled her to superstardom across the globe in the early 2000s.
Even though the venue is a seated theatre, audience members immediately pop up from their chairs and begin dancing.
I see a pair of crutches being hit together in time to the beat by a fan at the front of the audience, such is the enthusiasm in the room.
Anastacia builds up an easy rapport with the audience between songs. She jokily asks what to call people from Manchester. ‘Is it Manqueeneys?….I heard it’s something like Monks.’
You get the sense that she’s the nice, friendly brand of diva. You can more easily picture her having a gossip with her beautician while having her eyebrows waxed, rather than screaming at her assistant for getting the wrong coffee order.
At one stage the hun levels of the night actually peak off the charts. As I queue at the bar, none other than TikTok star Luke Hamnett appears. We grab a quick selfie with him before my friend shouts ‘I love your mum more than you!’ at him.
Surreal.
There are moments of reprieve from the energetic dancing – at one stage the pop star and her two backup singers perform soulful acoustic songs under dramatic spotlights.
But it’s the big hits the audience (who Anastacia cheekily refers to as ‘virgins’ because it’s the first time most of us have seen her live) are here for.
After a few outfit changes – from a green kimono, to a ‘rock chick’ leather jacket, Anastacia wheels out the classics such as Paid My Dues, before finishing with the seminal I’m Outta Love.
It’s hard to describe how much of a high you leave on after an Anastacia gig. The singer oozes warmth, humour and charm. There is no attempt to try be cool here – it’s all about letting loose, having a fabulous time and belting out soulful tunes.
Just a shame that after all that singing along I’m outta vocal cords when I leave the venue.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login