Fans love to love Tove Lo and Erik Hassle. The Knockturnal checked out the final concert of their tour at Terminal 5.
Tove Lo and Hassle’s heartbreak has paid off in complex pop songs and a concert filled with cheerful sounding sad songs. Hassle opened the show opting to begin with his slower “Ready For You,” instead of one of his more upbeat songs.
His soulful style of pop is clear in the lyrics of his songs along with his Prince-like falsetto, which came as a surprise to much of the crowd. He maintained the soft atmosphere for two more songs before putting on his shades, loosening up and grooving in to “What Is He Like.” As the tempo picked up Hassle danced around some more in a jerky fashion. Though they were a bit odd, the crowd loved his moves as he performed his new single “No Words.”
He has a confident, yet humble demeanor. During his performance, he hopped off the stage into the photo pit and gave his sunglasses to a fan who decided to ask for them, proclaiming that he loves them too. To wrap up his set, he returned to his more emotional songs.
Tove Lo strutted out in quite an opposite manner to Hassle. She had a commanding pop star presence despite her simple mechanic-like jumpsuit and relatively stagnant movement. She started her set off with the deceivingly cheerful “Not on Drugs.”
Her songs are a concoction of recreational drug use, sex and heartbreak. Most are set to high energy pop beats. Her skills in writing catchy hits are evident in each song, making them easy to sing along to without compromising content. Next, she introduced her song “Moments.” She recounted how years ago when she was last at Terminal 5, she was a self-proclaimed lost soul, only dreaming of one day performing on the venue’s stage.
Even in her slower songs Tove Lo doesn’t shy away from being sexually explicit. The tone bled into what she sang, seamlessly. She broke from her performance to command the room to dance and wave their hands. Every statement was laced with curse words.
Tove Lo’s controversial approach to her songs has flown under the radar compared to most female pop artists at the moment. Though, she comes off much more effortless. Even when she changed into a revealing high cut leotard and flashed her breasts during her hit “Talking Body” it seemed more about having fun than a forced attempt to get people talking.
She ended the show with “Habits” to a roaring crowd, proving that if listeners don’t become upset with her blatant references to sex and drug use, Tove Lo could easily be a full blown star.