FOMO 2019
Since making its 2017 debut in Sydney, it is safe to say that FOMO every year does not disappoint, and this year was no exception. Held in the heart of Western Sydney - Parramatta Park, with beautiful weather reaching up to 36 degrees and headliners, Mura Musa, Rae Sremmurd and Nicki Minaj at their best, the festival was a huge success in bringing amazing vibes and a delivering a memorable night.
The festival kicked off at 11:30 am, with Triple J’s Unearthed winner Brux, who brought a start to the day with house/electro music to bring the crowd together in time for Loud Luxury’s first Australian performance. The Canadian dance and R&B duo brought a sensational start to their set by teasing their multi-platinum hit song “Body”. Reaching almost 95 million YouTube views, this track most definitely kicked the heat out of the way and brought the crowd back into the mosh to experience their debut. By the end of their performance, Loud Luxury had the crowds’ energy up, hearts racing and ready for more.
Local party starter fave, Anna Lunoe, continued the one stage party — playing all the bangers from Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” to Sheck Wes’ “Mo Bamba”. Although everyone can agree that they’ve heard those two songs enough to last them the whole year, we can all also agree that Anna Lunoe and San Holo delivered all the hits in preparation for Kali Uchis. And boy, nothing could prepare us for our Colombian queen. For those who missed out on attending her sideshow at the Metro Theatre, Kali Uchis’ performance at FOMO surely made up for it! Coming through with some of my personal favourites, “After The Storm” and “Tyrant”, it is safe to say that Kali delivered her all, from her stage performance to her vocals.
Although we may not have gotten to see Lil Pump perform at FOMO, Aminè pulled out all the stops and showed everyone how it’s done. Aminé’s album “OnePointFive” follows through with Instagram and YouTube sensation, Rickey Thompson narrating throughout songs, and that is exactly how he started it. Initiating his set was Rickey Thompson on the big screen, followed by Amine himself, hitting the stage with his record winning hits, “Caroline” and “Reel It In”. By the time sunset was hitting, the crowd gathered from all sides of the venue in preparation for Mura Masa’s set.
There was no better way to continue the rest of the day surrounded by good friends, good music and a euphoric atmosphere. The 22-year-old EDM producer (also known as Alex Crossanset) first took the stage with a solo performance, after then bringing out singer Nozibelo Jackson to be the female voice of some of his hit singles, “Firefly” and “Complicated”. And although regardless of A$AP Rocky’s absence, “Love$ick” was by far the best way end his crowd-pleasing set.
By sundown, all 12,000 attendees had gathered in the mosh for the biggest hype duo Rae Sremmurd. Brothers, Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi set the stage with high hopes to deliver one of their best shows, and by starting the set to “No Type”, they certainly did deliver. The energy that they brought to the stage was like no other. Hit songs like, “No Flex Zone”, “Black Beatles”, “Swang” and Swae Lee’s collaboration with Post Malone, “Sunflower”, had the crowd wanting more. Rae Sremmurd’s performance had set the tone for what was coming up next. The hype and the excitement was very real in the wait for headliner, Nicki Minaj (which felt like the longest wait ever).
Once the music went down and the lights turned off, the crowd could not contain their excitement and went absolutely wild. Followed by her entourage clothed in a cloak, the Queen herself appeared opening her set to “Majesty”, and wow what an entrance that was — there is a reason why she’s crowned Queen. From stage performance to production, to vocals and interaction with her audience, Nicki Minaj definitely was the highlight of the night. If you’ve been a fan of Nicki since her uprising in 2010 with her album “Pink Friday”, this is a performance you’d hate to miss. Throwing it back to some of her first hits, “Your Love”, and “Moment 4 Life”, as well as covering featured songs of Young Money’s “Bedrock”, Ariana Grande’s “Side to Side”, and not to mention, bringing out Swae Lee (as we all hoped for) to perform “Throw Some Mo”.
Her interaction with the audience — getting one lucky guy on stage to sit through Nicki and her entourage dance to “Whip It”, to then getting a bunch of girls to show off their best twerk, was what drove the crowd crazy. There was no part of Nicki’s set that did not disappoint, bringing in the night with her rapping to then freestyling and then acapella, as well as getting our own personal performance of “Anaconda” left everyone mesmerised and understanding why she really is the Queen. Coming through with most of her record-breaking hits, “Beez In The Trap”, “Pound The Alarm” and “Starships”, the crowd was exhilarated with everything that she had to offer. Heading into a final close, Nicki had teased and left the stage with a subtle goodbye before quickly returning to the stage to play her one final song “Superbass”. From this performance, I was clearly wrong when I thought the audience had gone crazy to her previous songs. Production, lighting, sound, vocals and even fake fireworks on a big screen all made her last song finish FOMO with a bang. Can confirm that there is severe post-Nicki depression after that final set.
With a stacked lineup this year and having the Queen of Hip-Hop Nicki Minaj close the event, it is safe to say that the whole day & night was definitely one to remember. FOMO has proved itself again as a staple in Australia’s super competitive festival landscape and we can’t wait to see it grow even bigger in the future.
