:strip_icc()/s01.video.glbimg.com/x720/10427888.jpg "Alessia Cara sings João Gilberto and Djavan in a show that also had a duet with Jão | Lollapalooza 2022")
Alessia Cara kept her g1 promise and sang two Brazilian songs during her show at Lollapalooza 2022 this Saturday (26). She sang excerpts from “Flor de Lis”, by Djavan, and an integral version of “Saudade fez um samba”, by João Gilberto. The Canadian singer has been a bossa nova fan since the age of 14.
Anyone who looked at the sky full of dark clouds earlier in the evening may have thought of “Mars Water”. The rain did not come and the heat almost melted the singer on stage: she has given herself like few attractions so far. Even the duet with labelmate Jão on “You let me down” might have sounded artificial, but the impression was that they had known each other for a long time.
She prepared surprises, made a beautiful speech evoking the death of Taylor Hawkins, repeated several expressions in Portuguese and cried while dedicating “Better Days” to a friend.
The rest of the set includes recent pop, R&B and bossa nova influences, most evident in the acoustic version of “Bluebird”. There remain the biggest hits for the start (“Here”, muddled by numerous pre-recorded voices) and the finale (the cathartic “Scars to be lonely” and the good electronic farofa “Stay”).
Alessia Cara sings at Lollapalooza 2022 — Photo: Reproduction
Winner of the 2018 Breakthrough Grammy Award, Alessia sings about the woes of a young adult, including lyrics about anxiety, aversion to parties (above “Here”) and insomnia. This is the theme of “Sweet dreams”, when she sings the first lines lying on a sofa.
Before “Lie to me”, she pretends to answer the phone and does a nice little drama in Portuguese: “Hello, I can’t talk right now, I’m in Lollapalooza! Listen to this!”, she says while turning the device to the crazy public.
There’s also room for covers from American band The Neighborhood (“Sweater Weather”, playing guitar and leading a choir) and Coldplay. “Fix You” serves as a rehearsal for “How Far I’ll Go”, theme from the animation “Moana”, sung by her.
But it is the Brazilian versions that arouse the most astonishment and admiration in the public. Alessia’s soft and airy voice matches the delicacy of the chosen songs.
“We are heartbroken because the world has lost a great drummer and a great person, Taylor Hawkins,” he said towards the end of the show. “We are devastated and sending love to his family and friends. It makes me think how short life is…Sometimes we don’t want to go on, but life can get better, c is a gift.”
The gift of that Saturday night was to be there on stage seeing a talented performer who cares so much about the audience.
“Pop culture fan. Coffee expert. Bacon nerd. Infuriatingly humble communicator. Friendly gamer.”
