Ahead of her Reading and Leeds Festival appearances, Poppy took to the stage at London’s Omeara for an intimate sold-out show.

Everything about Poppy is extraordinary. Her music, her stage presence, her fanbase. She is a songstress, actress, author, model, and YouTuber. Most of all, she is a mystery; a mystery that hasn’t been solved yet.

Poppy is a character and singer portrayed by Moriah Pereira whose phenomenon has grown immensely since she released her debut EP, Bubblebath, in 2016. Aimed to poke at pop culture, celebrity status and social media-oriented society, it’s a unique project that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. With her lilting vocals, robotic manner, and cult-like following, there’s no denying Poppy’s rare charisma and her unequivocal influence on the internet culture. She has built her own world, and now everybody wants in.

Treating us to a special London performance ahead of Reading and Leeds Festival slots, Poppy’s allure was unmistakable from the moment she appeared on stage. Joined by her live band, two figures dressed in black from head to toe, it surely added to the theatrics setting the darker tone for the night.

Genre-defying, Poppy’s catalogue draws on myriad of influences ranging from electro-pop, synth-pop, art-pop to bubblegum pop and heavy metal, and that makes her live shows that more remarkable. Bursting into a mix of pounding beats and ambient electronics, opener Am I A Girl? set the crowd jumping and singing along, before falling into sparkling synths of Time Is Up.

Dropping new music into the mix, her new single Concrete sent us on a roller coaster of emotions and sonic variations, interlacing punchy, heavy guitar parts with sugar-coated, dulcet vocal harmonies, whilst I Disagree completely disregarded the idea of musical integrity, incorporating all possible sounds into the track. It’s like nothing you have heard or seen before. Taken from her most recent EP, Choke, Scary Mask (feat. FEVER 333) served an ominous feel, moments before X brought a grand finale to the spectacle.

Poppy’s stage persona is magnetic, ethereal, and untamed in a way, as she possesses the ability to transform from an innocent girl to a femme fatale within a second. Balancing on the verge of real and imaginary, you never know which one will show up next. Synthesising a new brand of music, the kind in which rules don’t really apply and everything is possible, Poppy truly embodies a new generation of pop. She is visionary, innovative, and simply different. With a tinge of irony, fun, and a small dose of irrationality to her aesthetics, she might be exactly what we need to stay sane in this digital age.

Photos: Kasia Osowiecka