Live Review: Jeremih

Stopping in Sydney just three months after releasing Late Nights: The Album, Jeremih's performance on Wednesday night was a testament to the moment that the Chicago born singer/songwriter/rapper is currently enjoying. After two reasonably accomplished albums, his newest release is a popular and critical success. He was originally slated to play the Metro, but due to popular demand was bumped up to The Enmore. Then, after upgrading, his performance was rescheduled not once, but twice to accommodate a — apparently surprising — Grammy nomination (Best R&B Performance for Planes; he lost to The Weeknd's Earned It).

This moment was everywhere in his Sydney set. It was there in victory laps of old tracks from his first two releases, it was there in new sounds from Late Nights that showed off just how far Jeremiah has come — even in a live set, the album's careful production and space shined through.

But that moment was also there in his over-the-moon gratitude. He proudly trotted out Birthday Sex, his somewhat cringey breakthrough 2009 track, something a less grateful artist would have tried to avoid on their way to artistic greatness. He handed out countless rounds of merch from the stage (hats and shirts) and never shied away from getting up close and personal with front-row fans, posing in snapchats and touching eager, outstretched hands. His backup dancers even looked like they were having fun; they laughed and teased between beats, moving between loose choreography and gyrating hips, shoulder rolls and drops that the audience were also bringing.

Towards the end of the evening Jeremih dropped back and manned the boards for an "after party" to give his audience a taste of the club scenes and dance floor encounters that define Late Nights. He pulled out tracks like Rae Sremmurd's No Type and OT Genasis' CoCo to keep the vibes going. This coda of sorts was slightly confused and may have been better spent getting deeper into Late Nights, but no one was happy to see Jeremiah close the lid to the laptop in front of him and leave the stage.