Indie-Pop artist Girl in Red kicked off the European leg of her I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY tour in style at the 3Arena in Dublin.

The 25-year-old, real name Marie Ulven Ringhem, shot to viral fame during the pandemic, with her first EPs Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 doing the rounds on TikTok. Shortly after lockdown was lifted, she released debut studio album If I Could Make It Go Quiet  to serious fanfare. All of this was before she had the small matter of supporting none other than Taylor Swift on the first North American leg of the record breaking Eras tour. A whirlwind few years indeed.

Showing no sign of slowing down, GIR dropped her sophomore LP and major label debut I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! earlier this year.  The record is an ode to her overcoming three years of shifting emotions and heartbreak, with the “again” referencing a return to the feelings she had when she was 17. The project is full of songs exuding genuine happiness and newfound self-esteem – an ideal renaissance to ground her US/Canada and Europe tour.

You could feel the love and energy in walking up to the 3Arena, as people of all ages and genders rocked up clad in the singer’s titular red.

Girl In Red at the 3 Arena by Gary Ibbotson.

The stage resembled a preschool, with giant primary coloured blocks and a similarly large heat lamp, with the artist herself opting to don an oversized pinstripe suit. Known for her quirky, Gen-Z-appropriate sense of humour – Ringheim made quippy and comments throughout, some of which only the most “chronically online” attendees might understand. She joked about the colour of her pee and even taught the audience about "underwear rizz", as she skipped and jumped like a little girl who's never experienced self-doubt or criticism.

Accompanying this playful atmosphere was a show which progressed powerfully with real emotion. It was easy to visualise the artist's timeline of the last few years, as she took us through the journey of rebirth and self-discovery she underwent while writing her new album. She opened with ‘doing it again’- which flaunted this newfound ego and carefree attitude.

It was a constant reflection of her multifaceted character. ‘Pick-me’ touched on jealousy and inferiority in relationships, whilst ‘I’m Back’ proved to be a rousing redemption anthem. All the hits were present too, with ‘summer depression’, ‘girls’, the sweet and romantic ‘we fell in love in october’ and ‘bad idea!’ all going down a treat with the adoring onlookers.

‘i wanna be your girlfriend’ was particularly rollicking, with the head-banging rock tune ending with Righeim amidst the crowd in the centre of the pit.

It’s unsurprising that she was willing to get so close to the present Dubliners.  The capital holds a special place in the singer’s canon, as the first city she ever played in outside of her native Norway when she opened for Clairo back in 2018. In a statement which sent her Irish fans into a frenzy, Ringheim professed that the capital would also be the destination of her last ever show.

“This is where it all started, and this is not where if fucking ends,” she stated. “But I'm going to make sure that the last show I ever play on this planet will be in Dublin- because then I am going to be able to say this is where it all fucking started, and this is where it’s all going to fucking end.”

Here's hoping for another few gigs like this before that moment arrives.