You could feel the love in the room at New York City’s Irving Plaza on Monday (June 18), as singer-songwriter and all-around gay icon — Lesbian Jesus, if you will — Hayley Kiyoko took to the stage for a second sold-out night at the venue, and the last date of her Expectations Tour.
Greeted by a Harry Styles-level of screaming, which continued all through the evening, Kiyoko launched right into it. The setlist was heavy with songs from her new album Expectations, but she was sure to squeeze in favorites such as “Girls Like Girls” and “Gravel To Tempo.”
Strong vocals and beast dance moves paired with an infectious charisma on Kiyoko’s part made for a performance for the books, and prove that she’s just about arena-ready.
Here are Billboard’s five most memorable moments from the evening.
An inclusive crowd
Irving Plaza was filled to capacity with a roaring crowd you’d expect to see at a One Direction concert. A sweaty sea of rainbow flags (and colorful hairdos to match), her fans airdropped each other empowering memes while they waited for Lesbian Jesus to start her set.
Hayley goes off
Before bursting into a high-energy performance of “He’ll Never Love You (HNLY),” the 27-year-old shared that a few tracks from Expectations were inspired by a girl who liked to play games. “Mind if I go off on her for a minute?” she asked the crowd, who responded with a positive roar. Her performance of “HNLY” was one of many tightly choreographed numbers in the set.
Sick dance moves
Speaking of which, “What I Need” and “Palm Dreams” were also among the songs that featured a full choreographed routine with four talented backup dancers. Kiyoko showed off her own incredible moves throughout the night, wearing a huge grin all the while.
A Pride Month message
The crowd was living for every minute of Kiyoko’s set, but one of the loudest cheers came towards the end, when the pop star shared a special message for Pride Month. “Something we haven’t talked about yet: Happy Pride!” she exclaimed. She added, “If I get nervous talked to a girl, I just think of you guys screaming.”
Gifts from fans
Among the items thrown on stage during her set were a rainbow flag and a bra — both of which Kiyoko whipped around her head like a helicopter. While the bra didn’t get a ton of stage time, Kiyoko twirled the Pride flag around during her entire performance of “Gravel to Tempo.”
Happy #20gayteen to you, @HayleyKiyoko! — pic.twitter.com/lId43ONloZ
— Billboard Pride (@BillboardPride) June 19, 2018
