I thought Robbie Williams was overhyped but can still kick it

Metro

10 hours ago

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I don't think I truly understood the hype around Robbie Williams until I saw him live in concert.
In one night, I've gone from a non-believer to a full-blown fan after decades of thinking he was just that guy who had a few hits in the 90s.
My conversion began with Better Man, which is one of the best biopics made in recent years, but until his London gig, I still saw him as an artist of the past.
As if he could tell what I was thinking, Robbie instantly proved me wrong by opening his two-hour set with his brand new song, Rocket.
Very few artists could release a track and have the entirety of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium singing along two weeks later — let alone make it their opening number.
But that's the power of Robbie.
From Rock DJ to Angels, he is (as he so delicately puts it) 's**tting hits'. And they were all packed into his Britpop Tour show.
Rocket turned out to be the perfect opener, with the 51-year-old star performing some aerial acrobatics to let us all know he planned to put on a show.
This quickly gave way to Let Me Entertain You, a song that set the tone for not only this gig, but his entire career — this is what he was born to do.
I had anticipated a good set list — of course, there's going to be hits, it's Robbie Williams after all. However, there was so much more to the show than big songs.
Ever the perfect showman, Robbie effortlessly toes the line between his ego and self-deprecating jokes, oozing charisma and charm that make it hard not to like him.
Jokes about his age, his wild past, and even some stray barbs at Oasis filled the moments between the songs without dropping the palpable energy in the room.
One particularly joyous moment was when he brought opening act Lottery Winners' singer Thom Rylance back on stage for a surprise song set.
Here, fans were tested by the comedic duo, singing along to fragments of tracks like Candy before the legendary Lulu joined them for a rendition of Take That's Relight My Fire.
Take That wasn't the only 90s band's fire which Robbie relit either, as midway through singing Keep On Movin' he brought out the whole of Five.
For the first time in 25 years, Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, Abz Love, and Jason Brown were all on stage together, basking in the screams of the shocked audience.
These moments prove Robbie knows exactly who his audience is and exactly what they want: personality and nostalgia.
This made it all the more jarring when things didn't quite land, such as when the gig became bogged down in clunky AI-generated filler where the Come Undone hitmaker 'spoke' to his younger and older self.
I'm not a fan of generative AI at the best of times, but there's something deeply awkward about watching someone — no matter how charming — 'talk' to a pre-made computer-generated approximation of themselves.
While the moments produced a handful of cheap laughs, the inclusion of these cringey videos felt incredibly disjointed from the very personable, real-life Robbie on stage.
The AI was thankfully a small misstep, which was quickly moved past in the sheer onslaught of undeniable bangers. She's The One, Kids, Strong, and Feel all sparked dancing and cheering from the audience, most of whom seemed to know every single word.
Finally, after an impressive two hours of dancing and singing, the boyband legend finished on Angels — because what else could it be. More Trending
It is simply the perfect closing song. Even among his many (many) hits, Angels remains untouchable.
Ultimately, you're never going to get a bad show with Robbie. He's a born performer, despite what they thought of his solo potential in the 90s.
After 35 years in the spotlight and 22 since his iconic Knebworth shows, the living legend that is Robbie Williams very much proved he can still kick it.
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