Hayley Kiyoko kicked off the first date of her European tour in style last night with a sold-out show at the Olympia Theatre. The 27-year-old American pop singer has been in the music world for over a decade now. Kiyoko opened for Justin Bieber and starred in the Disney Channel movie Lemonade Mouth, but she started to make her own way in the industry with her second EP This Side of Paradise, in which she fully embraced her identity as a gay woman with songs like ‘Girls like Girls’. Kiyoko continued to explore these themes on her refreshing debut album Expectations.

Kiyoko started her concert off with a bang, launching into hits like ‘Under The Blue/Take Me In’ and ‘What I Need’. It was immediately evident that the way she confidently displays and sings about her identity had struck a chord with many LGBTQ people across the audience, some waving pride flags, during her queer anthem ‘Girls Like Girls’.

“Tonight is very special for so many reasons,” said Kiyoko to a cheering crowd after her first batch of songs. “This is my first time in Dublin, this is my first show [of the European tour]... thank you for being my first.” In moments like these, or when her dancers bridged the gap between songs with well choreographed moves, Kiyoko demonstrated that she is bent on not letting the momentum of the show or her connection with the audience break.

In the latter half of the show Kiyoko performed ‘Molecules’, during which her emotional vocals were interpreted through the movements of one of her dancers, followed by ‘Wanna Be Missed’, ‘Cliff’s Edge’ and ‘Feelings’. During ‘Sleepover’, she broke out another musical talent when she picked up a bass and jammed with the guitarist.

At one point, a fan appeared to be having a medical issue and needed to be escorted out. Kiyoko paused the show to ask for help and brought up the lights. Moving on from this moment, Kiyoko thanked the audience for their support and said, “It takes a lot of energy to care about people because some people are dumb, so thank you for thinking I’m not dumb.”

The rest of the concert went off without any hitches. Kiyoko closed the show with ‘Let It Be/Mercy’, ‘Curious’ and ‘Gravel To Tempo’. Even in the final stretch it looked like she was genuinely enjoying herself, as she swung a bra over her head and tossed another into the audience before picking up a pride flag and waving it during the finale. These moments served as reminders to why so many relate to Kiyoko’s queer pop stylings and why she is treasured.