On the 8th of October, OneRepublic made their way to the Lotto Arena in Antwerp as part of their brand new Escape to Europe tour. With them, they took an energetic set full of lights, colours, and a beautiful stage.
The doors of the venue opened at 18:30, and the room filled up pretty quickly as fans were welcomed inside to a multi-level stage. As the opener, they took along Ella Henderson, known for her hit ‘Crazy What Love Can Do’. She got the crowd moving, clapping and singing. She mixed up her set as she went from more pop-sounding songs to a little bit of country.
Then, the moment we all were waiting for: it was time for OneRepublic. The intro started right after Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ played over the speakers. With a bit of a delay, the band entered the stage and started playing the first notes of ‘Born’. On the highest level of the podium, lead singer Ryan Tedder appeared, wearing a bright yellow jacket. This surely made him visible from every seat in the arena. They started quite literally with a banger as the room began to be drowned in tiny pieces of colorful confetti that danced around in between the crowd.
After the intro, they went straight to one of their beloved hits, ‘Feel Again’, which lifted the energy in the room. Frontman Ryan Tedder, energetic as always, darted across the stage, from one side to the other, occasionally doing a little spin or jump. He made sure every corner of the arena felt included.
Early in the show, Tedder took a little pause to introduce the band and told a little anecdote about previous shows. He stated that he has Belgian roots and that he used to visit Belgium a lot when he was younger. The inclusion of little jokes here and there added a small personal touch to the show. However, off to the music we went again, as a lot of hits had to be sung.
A barricade had been formed in the crowd as the band walked straight through the crowd to go and perform on the B-stage. Here, Tedder played ‘Life in Color’, which he dedicated to Chris Martin. He then continued with an acoustic version of ‘Something I Need’. Afterwards, he told the audience about the songs he wrote and produced not only for himself and his band, but also for other artists. This was followed by not one, but two covers, namely Beyoncé’s ‘Halo’ and Leona Lewis’ ‘Bleeding Love’.
It was then time for Tedder to go back to the main stage, where he performed hit after hit. He started with ‘Lose Somebody’, followed by ‘Can’t Stop’ and the as-of-yet-unreleased ‘I Need Your Love’. Closer to the end of the show, the audience was treated to ‘I Ain’t Worried’, ‘I Lived’, and of course, ‘Counting Stars’. During the latter, more confetti rained down from the ceiling. Overall, it was a show full of colour and energy, and filled with the band’s hits. They played a total of two hours, performing over twenty of their beloved songs.
Written by: StudioSunnySideUp
Photographed by: StudioSunnySideUp
Edited by: Mandy Huibregtsen
