Lianne La Havas captivated a sell-out crowd in Auckland on Friday night.
Lianne La Havas captivated a sell-out crowd in Auckland on Friday night.
The most beautiful thing about Lianne La Havas is just how genuinely happy she is to be doing what she does.
Playing her own sell-out show ahead of an opening slot at Coldplay's stadium show tonight, La Havas had the Tuning Fork crowd eating from the palm of her hand within seconds.
She did what every new artist does in New Zealand; having a go at saying "kia ora", telling us how awesome we are and how beautiful our home is, and changing out lyrics to include "New Zealand" and "Auckland".
The UK star was overwhelmed by the crowd and its enthusiasm, blushing at the applause and reacting with disbelief when everyone sang along to her songs saying, "I don't know how this happened ... but I love you."
Anyone who heard her sing last night, knows exactly how it happened.
La Havas' voice is astronomical. It's breathy, smoky and controlled when quiet, and when she belts - and man, can she belt - it's the kind of voice that makes you raise your hands like it's gospel.
She opened with a hit from her first album, Au Cinema, before delving into her "autobiographical" song Green and Gold, paying tribute to her half Greek, half Jamaican heritage. And she continued to play her way through almost two hours' worth of songs with near-flawless vocals (though she laughed off any mistakes).
Her charm is such that, though it was just her and her guitar and often the songs were slow and subdued, it just reeled the audience in further to the point where everyone hung off every word and note.
La Havas would give the odd wink to the crowd, have everyone sing and clap along and the crowd even provided the backing vocal on her hit Midnight.
The crowd cheered for the big notes and swooned for the quieter moments, and many couldn't help but shout their adoration out loud, declaring their love for the blushing singer who at one point nearly lost it in the middle of a song when someone wolf-whistled her.
And when the crowd sang along to her song No Room for Doubt, she was almost overcome with emotion, saying: "It's just too much".
She was sweet and sincere, sassy and flirty, open and sultry, but most of all, she had about as much fun as the crowd did.
In an earlier interview, La Havas said she was excited about coming to New Zealand for the first time and "just wanted to see if anyone was listening".
She got her answer. And after she opens for Coldplay tonight at Mt Smart Stadium, thousands more will be listening too, because it's impossible to ignore a vocal talent like La Havas', and it's just as impossible to resist her charm.
