“I definitely wish I hurried the fuck up,” SZA chuckles ruefully when I ask her on the Vevo red carpet for their Halloween: The Other World party if the universal outpouring of acclaim for her debut album CTRL made her wish she’d released the long-delayed album any earlier. “There were so many random moments where I was very sure I was going to put my album out, and it just didn’t happen, for a multitude of reasons,” she went on. “But, it’s cool to be on God’s timing. It’s hard to trust that timing, but it is a blessing in a strange way.”
That strange timing is exactly what led SZA, aka Solána Rowe, to San Francisco last weekend, to co-headline Vevo’s first US-based Halloween: The Other World party, featuring a lineup of emerging artists that’s so stacked I did a double take the first time I saw the invite. Along with SZA, Vevo tapped massive-pop-songwriter-turned-pop-star Julia Michaels, 2017’s biggest teen breakout Khalid, and Portland rapper Aminé, all artists who released albums that deeply connected this year.
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These four artists, along with Jessie Rayez, were from Vevo’s 2017 LIFT campaign, and their live sets were presented at the event by the Honda stage. Clearly, the series has its finger on the cultural pulse, and the chance to experience a mini-show from each performer was a once in a lifetime opportunity for these superstars in the making.
By 2018, it’s likely that all of these performers will be gracing stages much larger than the one at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, CA (just outside of San Francisco), as massive as it was. And this was strange, perfect timing for Vevo too, whose hugely successful UK counterparty event, with a successful five-year track record, was running simultaneously to the US flagship party.
So though it was a trek from LA up to the Bay, the trip was more than worth it. After the show I camped out in the city’s brand new Proper Hotel, one of the first luxury lifestyle hotels in the Mid-Market neighborhood in about a decade. Full of high-tech devices and a chic aesthetic — in both the many shared spaces and the room itself — the service and feel of this hotel was enticing enough to make me wish I had more time up north. But most importantly, it served as a launching pad for me to glam up for the red carpet prior to the night’s show.
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At the initial red carpet meet and greet — that was really a black carpet, given the holiday — most of the artists gushed about sharing the stage with each other, creating an atmosphere both backstage and out in the crowd that was much more close and familial than another concert with this kind of star power would be.
For the 18 and over show, Vevo released tickets for just $5, centering young fans who may not be able to afford or attend these shows when they come through the city on a more traditional tour. Coincidentally, the show also offered a safe space on a Saturday night for teens to celebrate Halloween, and they turned out in style. (Special shoutout to the kid with the Chance the Rapper costume, you killed it.)
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The performances for the night kicked off with a star-making performance from SZA, who had the crowd in the palm of her hand from the get-go, and proved once and for all that CTRL is just the beginning of what will be an enormous career. The incredible rock breakdown of “Love Galore” that her band pulls off live is a complete showstopper, and Rowe took all her vocals and maxed them up to 11 for the show, proving her pipes are just as powerful her pop appeal.
Amine quickly followed, running through his massive hits like “Caroline,” “REDMERCEDES,” and “Spice Girl,” then came Jessie Reyez, followed by the incredible Julia Michaels, who performed plenty of hits of her own, like “Issues” off her debut project Nervous System that came out this year, and also flexed a little by performing a medley of tracks like “Bad Liar” and “Sorry,” which she helped co-write for Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber respectively. But when it comes to writing songs for other people versus herself, Michaels says the experiences are totally different.
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“It feels way more exposing when it’s yours, when you’re songwriting you don’t really get the frontline effects of seeing everyone sing the music and being a part of the process,” Michaels told me on the red carpet before the show. “So, it’s definitely more surreal this way.” But, even if it was surreal for Michaels, as one of her only live shows of the year, the crowd was obsessed with the chance to see her live, and she performed with the grace of a seasoned pro, as her live set below clearly exhibits.
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Finally Khalid topped the entire night off with a set that reminded everyone why the VMAs decided to crown him the Best New Artist of 2017. From his smash, crooner hit “Location,” to the playful apathy of “Young, Dumb, And Broke,” he ruled the crowd with the kind of easy charisma that is rare to see in an artist who isn’t even old enough to drink.
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Picking my way through the empty warehouse after Khalid closed everything out, the remnants of costumes and all the empty cups weren’t the only sign of a night full of memories for all involved. Two joyful teen girls skipped out, arm in arm, tenderly serenading each other with SZA songs, and living inside of a moment that, surely, was orchestrated by the universe’s own perfect timing.
