In spite of being around for about seven years now, I’m
still shocked when people tell me they haven’t heard of Cimorelli. The band of
six sisters, whose ages range from 16 to 26, have uploaded hundreds of cover on
YouTube, highlighting their flawless harmonies and ability to produce
professional sounding tracks from the comfort of their own living room.
I arrived at the venue for their London show, the O2’s
Brooklyn Bowl, four hours before showtime to interview the band (you can read
the interview coming soon here) and was surprised to already see about 40 fans
waiting outside, a number which had doubled by the time I left the venue half
an hour later. Now, if that’s not a dedicated fanbase, I don’t know what is –
and this was a fact cemented for me later when I looked through Twitter later
that evening to see what people were saying about the concert, and saw hundreds
of accounts purely dedicated to promoting Cimorelli. It’s clear that the band
survives thanks to their solid fan base, and as a way of showing their
appreciation, I was sure that we were in for a good show.
I particularly liked the way the show started, with a
voiceover from all the girls very reminiscent of what one might expect from
stadium tours to hype up the crowd before the artist comes on stage. It
certainly works in this circumstance, with the audience screaming as the
opening bars of Hearts On Fire played
through the speaker system. The girls entered the stage one by one as their
respective melodies started, and not even one song in and it was clear that the
crowd was already hooked. As they moved onto I’m A Mess, I couldn’t help but think that Cimorelli could easily
have done a concert where just the crowd did the singing as everyone seemed to
know all of the words.
One of the things that I particularly liked about the show
was that it was evident that there was no one frontrunner in the band, but each
girl was given her own chance to shine. As they sang I Know You Know It, each member stepped forwards to sing her
respective part, and it was never a case that one was clearly the ‘lead’ as is
often the case in many bands.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Cimorelli concert without a
cover song, and they treated us to a mash-up of Justin Bieber’s Cold Water / Let Me Love You. To me,
this was testament of why they deserved to be successful – not only was it sung
beautifully, but the way in which the songs melded seamlessly into one another
showed that the girls clearly had an ear for music and producing tracks. The
girls seemed very much at home on stage, and I was pleased to see that they
didn’t have any pre-determined choreography, instead just doing whatever they
felt like doing, and I think the crowd was pleased to see that the band was
having just as much fun as we were.
Indeed, it seems that everything Cimorelli does is for their
fans, and this is evident when listening to their original music, with songs
like Up At Night and Fall Back based on themes and
experiences that were clearly relatable to their audience of teens and young
adults. As the girls write all their own music, they seem more transparent than
many other artists, and have as a result become something of role models and
advice givers to their fans, taking time to add in little motivational comments
in between songs – “it’s okay to be imperfect” and “you’re not alone.”
They slowed down the set for a minute to do a mash-up of a
number of songs on Up At Night including
Make It Stronger, Headlights, Sunsets and
Heartbreaks and Brave Heart, and
with just Amy on the guitar and no backing track, I was reminded of some of
their earlier covers. It was this simplicity that was the reason that many of
us had become followers in the first place, and although this was only a short
interlude in the concert, it was nice to see the girls returning to the style
that had made them famous in the first place.
Nevertheless, the energy picked up with crowd-favourite Before October’s Gone on which Lisa
particularly shone, hitting and holding some ridiculously high notes. Each of
the band members has a very unique voice and each song on their album seemed to
be written to highlight each of the girls in equal measure. Acid Rain was a particular highlight
from me as it moved from soft singing to full belt. Likewise, the powerful Good Enough was full of raw emotion, and
an excellent example of dealing with feelings many of their fans may struggle
with, as the girls sing ‘Whatever I did, I would take it all
back; I'd circle the world to get back what we had; Tell me what must I do to
deserve your love; Is there any way I'll ever be good enough?’ Speaking
to one of their fans after the concert, she mentioned that she liked Cimorelli
because of the message their music told, and how it had helped her get through
hard times, and for that reason, I was glad these girls had decided to pen
songs about real issues rather than a lot of the mindless (albeit catchy)
nonsense one might hear on the radio.
As well as songs from Up At Night, we were also treated to
sneak peeks of Cimorelli’s upcoming album Alive,
including One More Night with its
equally uplifting lyrics ‘Say a prayer,
close your eyes; Please just give it one more night’. Alive also draws on
the girls faith as a point of content, as highlighted in the Lauren-penned Never Let Me Fall in which she discusses
“turning to God, as he is the strength in all of us.” Both of these songs
received a great response from the crowd, so no doubt Cimorelli will be
returning to our shores next year to support their upcoming album.
The concert ended the best way it could
have done, with what I think are probably their two most motivational songs – You’re Worth It and Worth The Fight which, as the titles suggest, say things we all
need to hear now and then. As they sang, they walked to the front of the stage
to hold hands with the crowd, looking their fans right in the eyes and singing
directly to them. It is clear that their music speaks to a lot of people, and
with that in mind, it’s no surprise these girls mean so much to their young
fans. Even if listening to You’re Worth
It convinces one girl to see herself in a better light, then it’s evident
that these girls are doing more with their music than a lot of today’s artists.
Agree
with my review? Let me know and stay tuned for my interview with
Cimorelli coming soon to the blog by following me on Twitter @CiarasCountry!
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