It’s a gloomy Tuesday evening in Amsterdam. The sky has been packed with grey clouds and rain has accompanied us pretty much all day long. The city is in desperate need of some sunshine to lighten the mood and brighten the day. Luckily we have just the right recipe lined up for our evening: we’re about to see Naïka live in concert.
The singer grew up all over the world. Due to her dad’s job, the family lived everywhere — from Kenya to Paris. She sings in English, French and Haitian Creole. The latter comes from her mum, who is from Haiti with Lebanese and Syrian-Palestinian roots. Her dad is French and was raised in Madagascar. This multicultural upbringing clearly reflects in her music. The singer calls her genre “world pop”, as it blends influences from all the places and sounds she encountered growing up.
As soon as the spotlights hit the stage it becomes clear we’re in for a celebration of sun-soaked music. Plants decorate the stage, creating the perfect background for the singer kicking off the night. She opens the show with ‘WELCOME TO ECLESIA’. The song feels like an invitation into her world, especially when she sings, “If you feel like you don’t belong, we’ll take you in with open arms.” It quickly becomes clear to the audience that this space within these four walls is a safe place.
We’re in for a treat with Naïka’s music. Each track invites us to swing our hips from left to right. The singer uses her strong pop vocals to fill the room with love and joy. Fan favourite ‘Ma Chérie’ has the audience singing at the top of their lungs. The backdrop transforms into glistening water, allowing for a dreamy acoustic start to the beloved song. It’s a delight hearing her sing in French — it almost feels as if she sounds even better in the language of love.
We are then treated to a special intro for the next song. A personal video appears showing Naïka’s uncle whistling beautiful melodies. His whistle was unique because he had lost his front teeth, which gave it a distinctive tone that almost sounded like an instrument. This exact whistle was used in the song ‘For Gerard’ to honour her late uncle Gérard. The song is beautiful and feels like a warm hug during the night.
As much as we are enjoying dancing to each track, we do start to feel that some songs sound quite similar. Luckily the show takes a turn when red lights start flickering to lead us into ‘MATADOR’. The song blasts fresh energy into the room. It almost sounds like something by ROSALÍA, and we instantly love hearing it live for the first time.
As soon as we hear “Eh mpaka lage mpaka lage” we know we’re in for a big sing-along moment. The whole crowd joins in for her hit ‘African Sun’, creating a beautiful sense of togetherness in the room. This joyful atmosphere continues with two more highlights of the show. The crowd goes wild during ‘ONE TRACK MIND’, especially during the “Zo-bo-do-bo-do” part of the song. The same happens during ‘F.I.S.H’, with everyone singing loudly and proudly.
Near the end of the show we reach our personal highlight of the night with ‘WHAT A DAY!’. The track shows a less commercial side of the singer, allowing her to showcase not only her creativity but also her songwriting skills. We love the depth of the lyrics, reflecting on how we all continue living life as if the world is not burning around us. When we reach the line “What a day for crime, kids are dying in Palestine. Blood is paving Congolese mines, and the world keeps going” every single person in the room shouts along.
After a short departure the singer returns for the encore. Luckily it’s our favorite Naïka song: ‘6:45’. It was basically the main reason we came to see her live in the first place. The song is absolute perfection and she delivers it beautifully in a live setting. After this evening it becomes clear we should have had many more reasons than just this one song to see her perform live. Even though she hasn’t officially broken through in the charts yet, it makes perfect sense that she is already playing sold-out shows like the one tonight in Amsterdam. A true world-pop star.