Concert Review
Khalid - It's Always Summer Somewhere Tour
Four studio albums, six Grammy nominations, 32 Billboard Hot 100 entries, including five Top 10 hits and collaborations with some of today’s biggest artists, such as Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, SZA and Tate McRae. This sounds like the impressive résumé of someone who has been in the music industry for ages. It is, however, the career summary of the just 28-year-old Khalid. The R&B singer is ten years into his career, but with his brand-new sound and freshly found confidence, it feels like he is only getting started. Before we jump to the main event of the evening, we have to give a shout-out to Jae Stephens, who is supporting Khalid on tour. The L.A.-based singer recently released her major-label debut album AUDACITY and is ready to show Berlin exactly what pop music in 2026 looks like. She warms up the crowd with perfectly executed choreography and big bubblegum pop songs infused with R&B influences. Think of what a top-of-the-class student in the school of Beyoncé and Britney would look like putting on their graduation show. She is the perfect choice to get the crowd ready for the main act of the night. Berlin’s Uber Eats Music Hall is ready for Khalid to enter the stage. First and foremost, the singer wants to remind his fans that he has an incredibly warm, mellow, slightly raspy and effortlessly soulful voice. We know he pulls it off on his recorded music, but right from the start, he lets us know that he can deliver the same, if not even better, vocals in a live setting. His sweet-like-honey voice smoothly fills the venue as he opens with an almost acoustic version of ‘Motion’ before diving straight into one of our favorite tracks, ‘Better’. As he waves at fans throughout the crowd with a bright smile on his face, the lyrics “Nothing feels better than this” feel absolutely believable. The It’s Always Summer Somewhere Tour follows the release of his fourth studio album, after the sun goes down, in 2025. We are massive fans of the album. Khalid gave us a masterclass in turning a situation outside of his control, if you know, you know, into an opportunity to reinvent himself and own his story. On the album, he introduces us to a newfound confidence and energy, truly shining as his most authentic self. Working alongside iconic producers such as Darkchild, Ilya and BloodPop, he enters a new era that feels bright, unapologetic and like the perfect meeting point between pop and R&B. As massive fans of his latest album, we were secretly hoping it would get more room to shine during the concert. Unfortunately, the after the sun goes down moments feel a little rushed, with shortened versions of several tracks leaving us wanting more. We understand that putting together a setlist with such an extensive catalogue must be a challenge, but we would have loved to see Khalid spend more time owning this new era. Seeing him perform songs like ‘out of my body’, ‘in plain sight’ and our favorite, ‘please don’t call (333)’, show us just how much more there is to him than the smooth R&B sound he first became known for. He can bust a move, nail the choreography and deliver big pop vocals. With a catalogue as extensive as Khalid’s, putting together a setlist must be an almost impossible task. Still, with the show sitting comfortably at around 75 minutes, we would have happily stayed for another 15. We missed personal favorites such as ‘Eleven’, ‘MIA’ and ‘Personal’, alongside fan favorites like ‘Know Your Worth’, ‘Shot Down’ and, of course, the massive ‘Eastside’. We will never understand why we didn’t get the latter, but hey, let’s move on to all the great live renditions we did get. Hearing ‘Location’ live for the first time is an absolute blast. We have been fans of Khalid ever since he released this debut single back in 2016. For some reason, we have never had the opportunity to see him perform live, so hearing it a whole decade later feels like an absolute dream come true. The singer also shows his Berlin fans that he can perfectly hold his own on the Normani collaboration ‘Love Lies’, another one of our favourite moments of the evening. Our highlight, however, has to be the incredible, Grammy-nominated Disclosure collaboration ‘Talk’. A massive tune like this easily blows the roof off the venue, especially when paired with vocals this powerful. What a moment. We might not have gotten every moment we hoped for, but there is no doubt that we were treated to a great show packed with hits and sweet-like-honey vocals. Khalid looks like he is having an absolute blast performing and makes a genuine effort to connect with his fans. That smile of his lights up a room just as much as the music does.
