Omar Rudberg delivers a charming and electric performance at O2 Academy, Birmingham

After the release of his album, Every Night Fantasy, and his recent single, ‘I’m Not A Boy’, Omar Rudberg has been touring the UK and Europe. Also known for his role as Simon in the Swedish Netflix drama series Young Royals, Omar Rudberg’s music can be characterised through their attractive hooks, catchy melodies, and danceable rhythms.

At 8 p.m., the playlist fades, the stage lights alternate between red and blue, and the London-based pop girl group and supporting act for the day, Say Now, make a dashing entrance. They give a thoroughly versatile performance, demonstrating an impressive vocal range and striking dance moves, and as they wind up, audience morale is at an all-time high.

From the outset, it’s clear that this performance will be a spectacle

After a half-hour interval, there is excited cheering, as the stage lights again turn a brooding red. The audience is met with an exciting combination of synthesisers, drums and bass, as Omar Rudberg delivers a distorted monologue about “this thing called life”. As the opening notes for ‘Bye Bye’ (from Every Night Fantasy) play, the lights turn pearl-white — the same colour as the album cover. Omar Rudberg enters the stage with supporting musicians Simon Santunione on drums and Isak Nygren on bass guitar and midi-tech.

From the outset, it’s clear that this performance will be a spectacle, as the supporting musicians are dressed in silver shimmering jackets, and two dancers (Adnan Sahuric and Lamin Holmén) accompany Rudberg on stage. Sure enough, the concert starts on a high note, with Rudberg singing and dancing seamlessly.

Following this, the music shifts, and ‘Yo Dije OUFF’, Rudberg’s second song for the night begins to play. In Spanish, this song alludes to Rudberg’s Venezuelan heritage, as he sings about a captivating Venezuelan woman, Mariana. The crowd immediately matches the energy, singing and chanting along in Spanish. Midway through, the song merges with Cardi B’s ‘I Like It’, and the crowd dances along with gusto.

After high-energy renditions of ‘Girlfriend’ (from Every Night Fantasy) and a mash-up of ‘Como Ayer’, ‘La Mesa’, ‘Pull Up’ and ‘Que Pasa’, which demonstrate Nygren’s great command over music tech and Rudberg’s ability to switch from song to song, the mood shifts.

Rudberg expresses his wish to change the mood and sing a “special song”, as white light from the left, and blue from the right merge together, placing Rudberg in the spotlight. He starts singing ‘Simon’s Song’, from Young Royals, in Swedish. A deeply heartfelt and romantic song, ‘Simon’s Song’ also allows Rudberg to showcase his vocal range—from a rough, deep tenor to ascending high notes. The crowd sways, singing along in Swedish.

The energy is again ramped up, as Rudberg segues into ‘Lose Me’, demonstrating captivating dance moves, and encouraging the audience to sing along

Rudberg maintains this energy for the next few songs, ‘Wrong’ (a personal favourite), ‘Red Light’, and ‘I’m Not A Boy’, his most recent single.

The energy is again ramped up, as Rudberg segues into ‘Lose Me’, demonstrating captivating dance moves, and encouraging the audience to sing along. The lights quickly flicker from blue to yellow to red—the colours of the Venezuelan flag. Rudberg asks Nygren to ramp up the bass, and Santunione to perform an animated and energetic drum solo as he plays ‘Talk’.

By the end of ‘Talk’, the audience is booming with enthusiasm at Rudberg’s impeccable choreography with Sahuric and Holmén. While Rudberg’s ability to multitask has been impressive so far, his dancing in ‘Talk’ is incredibly flexible and effortless, and worth highlighting.

‘In The Sunrise’ and ‘Moving Like That’ continue to bolster the energy in the concert before another change in the mood. Rudberg again shows a masterful ability to switch across songs and moods as he plays, ‘It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane’.

Also featured on Young Royals, ‘It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane’ marries deep and rich vocals with thought-provoking songwriting. The lyrics are poignant, and as the crowd sings along, the message is reverberated across the hall. The song speaks to the fear of being embarrassed and the struggle to fit into moulds, and thus, living an unhappy life.

Then: ‘She Fell In Love In The Summer’, where a fan project comes to fruition. Before the start of the concert, audience members were handed out coloured tissues, representing the Venezuelan flag. As the song starts, people rummage through their pockets to fish out the papers and place them on their phone flashlights. As Rudberg sings, small red, blue and yellow lights serenade him.

The crowd is filled with excitement as rays of white light shine through the stage

The song ends, and everyone waits with bated breath for the encore to commence.

The crowd is filled with excitement as rays of white light shine through the stage. He plays ‘Dum’, one of his older singles, in Swedish. This song is slower and meshes smoothly with the next song, ‘Happier’. In ‘Happier’, Rudberg exhibits truly compelling vocal skills. During the bridge especially, he demonstrates unrestrained breath control and vibrato, as the crowd hoots with appreciation.

‘Mi Casa Su Casa’, the penultimate song, is a contrast. With a catchy hook and some mesmerising dance moves, the energy accelerates once again, before the final song, ‘Sabotage’.

Ending on an energised, and angsty note (“Might make a mess, but I swear, I’ll try my best to not sabotage”) ‘Sabotage’ proves to be an impressive song, musically and lyrically, to end on.

Rudberg thanks everyone, giving special thanks to his crew. As the stage is cleared out, people chatter excitedly. The crowd brimming with joy and giddiness, Rudberg starts and ends his concert with an equally energised audience; everything is brought full circle.

★★★★