Foto: Anne-Marie Forker

After selling out Sentrum Scene in 2022, 6 time Grammy winning Jacob Collier, the English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator arrived at Oslo Spektrum on his biggest European tour to date, in support of his 2024 album "Djesse Vol. 4".  Dubbed "the Mozart of Gen Z", Collier is known for his energetic live performances where he often conducts the audience to sing harmony or play percussion parts, so the anticipation was high before Collier ran onto the stage barefooted and bursting with enthusiasm.

Almost half of the setlist contained songs from his latest, and fifth, studio album, starting with the opening song "100,000 Voices", where the entire stage was an explosion of colour and Collier played a beautiful Steinway & Sons piano.  True to the song's title, the sound of a choir filled the room. Collier quickly changed instruments to play a headless Strandberg guitar for the single "WELLLL" which he co-wrote with Remi Wolf, also from his latest album. This song contains a "pop goes metal" instrumental, showcasing how Collier can seamlessly transition between multiple genres.  


Highlights from his other records included "Time Alone With You", from "Djesse Vol. 3" where Collier climbed to a park bench perched high at the back of the stage, wore a hat and played jazz funk bass. Not content with piano, guitar, and bass, Collier would later also perform a duel with his drummer, with both drum kits under the spotlight. He performed with a sense of fun and mischief throughout the concert. "This is the biggest show of the tour so far, and in celebration of that I would like to play a song in FSharp major. Thank you", he quipped to much laughter. Even during the ballad, "The Sun is in Your Eyes", where Collier was left on stage by himself, there was plenty of humour and cheers after every acoustic guitar flourish. This was where Collier's talent really shone, when everything was reduced to the simplicity of his voice and his acoustic guitar.  

There were also covers, including an imaginative, harmonized solo synth performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" which felt too long, and a piano cover of the Bee Gees' "How Deep is Your Love", followed by an extended conducting of an "audience choir". Here Collier held the crowd in the palm of his hand as he controlled the harmony of their singing by raising and lowering his hands playfully. The best cover of the evening was kept for the encore, with a stunning performance of "Somebody to Love", during which Collier again conducted the audience. He said the Oslo crowd was "magical". "Thank you for being the best, Oslo", and it felt like he meant it.