REVIEW — Alex Warren’s Melbourne show on his Cheaper Than Therapy Global Tour was unlike any other concert I’ve been to.
Forgive me for the pun, but it was certainly out of the Ordinary.
The 70 minutes Warren was on stage brought about a rollercoaster of emotions in the jam-packed stadium – in the best kind of way.
The show began with the roars of excitement and adoration for the chart-topping American singer as he ran out and launched into song Burning Down – his first song to make the Billboard Hot 100.
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The crowd’s energy remained high throughout the night, but there were quickly tears of grief and pain.
Warren is most famous for his hit track Ordinary, a love song written about his connection with his wife Kouvr Annon.
It spent 17 weeks at number one on the ARIA singles chart, the longest run of all time by an international artist, and has accumulated over a billion global streams.
But the 24-year-old is so much more than that song to his fans.
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For many, Warren is an inspiration for others who have struggled through losing a parent or a loved one.
Warren’s father died from cancer when he was just nine.
His mother was an alcoholic who kicked him out of home when he was 18, leaving him homeless, before she died from her addiction a couple years later.
You could feel the grief in the air as Warren sang Save You a Seat and You’ll Be Alright, Kid.
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Tears streamed down fans’ faces, and Warren took moments to stop and ask the audience if they were OK.
He spoke to several emotional fans who told him of their dead parents, with two even passing their parents’ ashes up to him on stage to hold.
One asked him to sign the bag of ashes – it wasn’t the first occasion fans have asked him to do this.
“He was my inspiration for music,” one emotional fan and musician said of her dad as Warren held his ashes.
Warren showed his compassion for the losses, but also managed to have the crowd laughing throughout the sad content with his dark humour and cheekiness.
His previous pursuits as a hit Youtuber and TikToker mean he is a performer in more ways than one when he’s on stage.
Before he began releasing music in 2021, Warren rose to fame making prank videos on Youtube then TikTok, garnering millions of followers.
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Warren managed to keep spirits high with his dark and shock humour, with segues such as him abruptly announcing, “And on the topic of my wife’s middle name, here’s a song about my dead parents”.
He similarly has a refreshingly honest approach to performing, advising the audience towards the end of the show, “This is the part when I run off stage then come back and do a couple more songs, OK?”
Warren’s wife was a repeated topic of discussion; fans love the couple’s love story.
She painted designs on the guitars he played.
“This is my moment!” he playfully yelled at the audience when they chanted her name.
Love was a strong feeling in the stadium. You could feel the fans’ love for Warren, and his love back for them.
He repeatedly thanked the audience for their support, while many of them tried to hand gifts to him.
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At one point he donned a gifted Bunnings straw hat, while he also did a fan’s gender reveal.
Love was also evident between the many couples in the crowd as Warren finished the night with Ordinary, which has become a popular wedding song.
Tickets for the shows on the Australian and New Zealand leg of his tour were so in demand that he had to upgrade venues after tickets sold out.
He then packed a record 7079 people into Margaret Court Arena.
Warren was clearly battling illness throughout the night, repeatedly asking the crowd to help him sing, but his voice was still incredible, as was his band.
It was a night attendees won’t forget.
The writer went to the concert courtesy of Frontier Touring.
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