Album: Free Spirit

Artist: Khalid

Opening Act: Clairo

Genre: R&B/Soul

Our Rating: A+

Miami’s avid Khalid fans were ecstatic to hear that Khalid’s Free Spirit tour was coming to the American Airlines Arena. On Aug. 17, the fans highest expectations of the concert were met and exceeded. The concert began with Clairo, an up-and-coming Lo-fi indie artist that performing some of her hits, including “Pretty Girl” and “4Ever”. The crowd, especially those gathered on the floor of the concert, were already energetic and dancing in their seats by the first song. The quality and range of her voice combined with the originality of her music made this a great opening act. Khalid made quite the entrance by wearing an Elmo costume to surprise Clairo on stage, as it was her birthday the following day. This entrance surprised the entire crowd which proceeded to scream and cheer once Khalid removed the Elmo head.

Khalid returned to the stage with a group of backup dancers, which added to the magic of the night. Both their individual improvisations and their choreographed group numbers contributed greatly to Khalid’s singing. In a more conventional, or “poppy” concert, the artist probably would have been dancing with their dancers. But, as Khalid’s music is more R&B, him choosing against this and instead focusing on his vocals was definitely a good call. He kept the dancers on stage with him and let his voice take over the arena, giving the crowd its money’s worth. The performance was combined with stunning visual displays on the unique stage, which had screens running from the floor underneath where the performers were standing all the way up the back wall. As for his vocals, the audience was astounded by the surreal, almost effortless beauty of his voice. The clarity and range in his voice on the recorded album paled in comparison to reality.

“The concert was so fun! There were so many effects behind Khalid during the performance. I don’t really have a favorite part, it was all really fun, but if I had to choose, probably when he sang Happy Birthday to the whole crowd. I knew Clairo before but wasn’t familiar with a lot of songs. Her performance was spot on, though,” freshman Brianna Duardo said.

Since this was his last show, Khalid performed several songs that were meaningful to fans but not scheduled on the setlist as a medley, which worked out perfectly thanks to his amazing guitarist and drummer. He also sang a gorgeous rendition of “Happy Birthday” for the entire audience, who all seemed to have their birthdays fall on that day as they all screamed when he asked whose birthday it was. In honor of his last stop of the tour being in Miami, he also sang an unreleased song called “Faded in Miami”. For the umpteenth time, the crowd went wild.

“The concert was amazing. My favorite part was when Khalid started singing Angel, my friend and I got so into it. I knew of Clairo before she performed, as she was the opening act to a concert I went to last year. Her performance was also great,” sophomore Rebeca Morejon said.

Khalid’s lovable and charming personality shined onstage. His vocals, the visuals, the dancers and all of the additional songs that he decided to play made this an experience one for the books. The message of becoming a Free Spirit touched the hearts of many of the audience members, and there was not one dry eye after the concert was over.