‘I’m struggling to take it all in really,” confides Becky Hill, laying across the stage on the second night of her first solo arena tour. She has sung here before as part of a Pete Tong show, but only got to perform a few songs. This time, the ultimate slow-burn pop star – who came second on The Voice in 2012 then spent a decade as a dance-pop guest vocalist – gets the whole set, 90 minutes of hits and cuts from her second album Believe Me Now?, released earlier this year.
Hill’s voice is husky and immaculate, and she looks strong and chic in a black leather outfit. The crowd of mainly young women are with her from the very start, but Hill takes longer to get into the swing: she’s visibly a little nervous, and suffers through a few wardrobe issues that will ring true to anyone who has spent a night out attending to misbehaving dress straps. Despite all this she’s a consummate professional who never misses a note, speaking to her many years as a vocalist for hire on tracks by the likes of Rudimental, Tiësto and Little Mix.
Hill can seem awkward in the middle of the vast stage, doing the self-conscious shuffle of someone being stared at while dancing – which makes sense when she’s performing songs designed for dancefloor abandon like early hit Afterglow or recent single Lonely Again. The best moments come when she lets go and channels the fun that the audience are having. During False Alarm and Darkest Hour she loosens up and jumps around, and is noticeably more relaxed during Lost the Plot, an unreleased track about music industry struggles that channels the confessional, knowing lyrics of Brat-era Charli xcx. It’s an intriguing hint towards a potential future direction.
With songs embracing dance genres from drum’n’bass to piano house, Hill is a clubber at heart, and she shines when she’s embodying an elevated version of her clubbing self – but it’s hard to turn the stuff of communal club magic into pop-star charisma. Hill absolutely has the chops but she’s still learning how to fill the huge spaces her eager young fanbase justifies, and bring that dancefloor euphoria on to the stage.
