There’s an undeniable swagger to Omar Rudberg as he arrives on stage in front of a sold-out crowd at London’s Heaven on Monday night. Shades on and trousers sparkling under the nightclub’s strobe lights, this has been a long time coming.
When announcing the tour earlier this year, Rudberg had initially booked 800-capacity Scala but upgraded to the underground Charing Cross venue due to phenomenal demand. For the 1,200 people who see the hour-long set that follows, it’s clear that these stages are already deserving of being double the size.
If the 25-year-old is feeling any nerves having jetted into the capital from Stockholm that morning, they are nowhere to be seen on teasing opener ‘Bye Bye’. Spurred on by a wall of sound, it’s impossible not to smirk at the suggestive move that comes as the lights drop and he tells an ex to ‘kiss my ass’.
That track comes from the freshly released EP Every Night Fantasy. That full project only dropped last week but followed a string of singles in 2024 and punctuates the singer’s set.
With his past in Swedish boyband FO&O, Rudberg’s solo material has never sounded like that of a debutant. It’s fair to call the star’s 2022 album OMR one of pop music’s most criminally underrated debut projects and Swedish singles have clocked up millions of streams over the years, but there’s a personality across Every Night Fantasy that smacks of an artist believing in his work more than ever before.
Latest single ‘Girlfriend’ comes early in the night and is already clearly a fan favourite, while the soaring ‘Red Light’ is treated to a fan project that sees Venezuelan flags held up in homage to the singer’s birth country.
Rudberg’s pride in his latest project is at its most evident in the grin that covers his face on the flirtatious ‘Lose Me’, which gives way to a whiplash transition into ‘Talk’. On that track the singer is at his most potent, blending pop influences into what has become his own trademark sound.
Born in Venezuela but having moved to Sweden at the age of six, the artist’s discography features tracks in English, Swedish and Spanish. Combine that with his boyband dancing background and acting career – Rudberg is a jack of all trades on stage.
It’s likely that Heaven has never seen hips like those showcased in a ‘Como Ayer / Pull Up’ mash-up and slick choreography like that is a mainstay throughout the night.
“Are you ready to move?” he asks before Melodifestivalen hit ‘Moving Like That’ and the venue’s energy shifts up a gear as Justin Bieber and The Kid LAROI smash ‘Stay’ is intertwined with ‘In The Sunrise’.
The singer rarely allows the pace to drop but ‘She Fell In Love In The Summer’ showcases the velvet tone in his voice and Young Royals track ‘Simon’s Song’ is a truly endearing number.
Revelling in the music, Rudberg resists indulging in too many moments of reflection but one pause does come before an ethereal ending in the lovesick ‘Sabotage’, perhaps his best release to date.
Taking a rare breath, the singer admits, “This is crazy, I can’t believe this is actually happening.” If that is true, Rudberg better buckle up as he’s onto something special.
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