The co-headlining tour is an ambitious demonstration of two pop stars in their prime.
On April 17, 2024, pop artists Troye Sivan and Charli XCX announced a joint North American tour titled “The Sweat Tour,” or simply “Sweat,” beginning on Sept. 14 in Detroit, Michigan and ending on Oct. 23 in Seattle, Washington.
“Sweat” is the first tour of shows held entirely in arenas for both artists. For Charli, the tour is a stark departure from her previous shows, which were often hosted in smaller, more intimate venues. However, these smaller settings often worked in favour of her experimental dance pop sound and loyal fanbase, making an arena tour a display of ambition as well as a testament to the success she’s been seeing since the summer..
The tour is in support of both artists’ most recent albums, Sivan’s latest LP being Something to Give Each Other and Charli’s the summer-hit BRAT. Prior to the first show, fans of both artists speculated how the show would be arranged, whether songs would be alternated or if both artists would perform a full set one after the other. The tour adopted the former strategy, where each singer performs two to three songs before switching. This strategy comes with the risk of being clunky and inefficient, but neither Charli nor Sivan missed a beat, keeping the show moving at a consistent pace without clutter.
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Waiting around all afternoon for a close-up spot on the general admission floor is something only die-hard fans would do. There’s certainly a friendly awkwardness to how absurd it is, as I witnessed waiting eagerly for a spot at the barricade for the tour’s Toronto performance on Sept. 18. People are dressed up and talking amongst themselves, bonding over their shared love for the artists to pass the time.
Upon entering the arena, the stage comes into full view. There’s a mainstage with various scaffolding and platforms towards the back, a white sheet draped in front of it. On either side of the stage there are raised platforms with large screens above them. A plexiglass catwalk extends from the mainstage to a square centre platform reading “SWEAT.” Beneath the catwalk sits another walkway with cages on either side.
The growing anticipation among the audience as they file in is satisfied by the tour’s opening act Shygirl. Her songs are seamlessly mixed by a DJ, blending rap with house and grime music. She demonstrates a captivating vocal range between sultry, softer vocals and aggressive rap.
As Troye exits the stage, a large green banner reading “brat” descends on all sides of the centre square. The lights flash before going dark, booting up again as the banner drops to Charli standing in the middle, beginning her first performance of the night. She invites Shygirl on stage once again to perform a remix of “365,” teasing the release of the “BRAT” remix album: “Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat.”
A driving factor behind the show’s consistent excitement is the different energies both artists bring to stage. Sivan’s music is upbeat but has a slower pace. His fluid movements and choreography with dancers are hypnotic to watch, evoking a sense of ease.
Charli’s erratic energy matches the club aspect of her music. On this tour, she performs on stage without the company of backup dancers, dominating the stage with her lone presence. Her antics range from climbing on posts, banging and clawing at the cage and licking the stage. With the amount of times she demands the audience to “put their f***ing hands up,” you’re left feeling guilty for not giving her the entirety of your energy.
The two perform their collaboration “1999” together in the tail end of the show, the last song before the encore act. Charli finishes off her solo performances with tributes to her older work, starting with the nearly six-minute “Track 10” from her 2017 mixtape Pop 2.
The song plays an important role in her discography as the closing track to a mixtape that evolved both her own sound and presented the world with a vision of pop music’s future.
The final track in her set pays tribute to another staple in her career from her collaboration with Icona Pop on “I Love It.” The nostalgic sound immediately transports audiences to summer in the early 2010s, the performance feeling like a triumphant full-circle moment in her career.
Sivan’s set concludes with his 2023 hit “Rush,” an instant hit among the audience that has people pushing and jumping towards the barricade. The two finish the show with a collaborative remix of Charli’s track “Talk talk,” drawing out the audience’s energy one last time.
“Sweat” feels like a victory lap for these two artists, both with long careers in music finally gaining well-deserved success in an arena tour. Their setlists pay tribute to their current successes and their roots. Having made it this far the sky’s the limit for what their future shows will look like. It’s hard not to root for them, even if by the end of the show they leave you drenched head to toe in sweat.
