"We just want you to dance and have the best time tonight," Carly Rae Jepsen declared to a sold out crowd at NYC's Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday night (9/28). "Let's get loose." It was the third night of her So Nice Tour, her first North American headlining tour since 2019, and the vibes, as they say, were immaculate. With a stage set-up of full of cheerfully puffy clouds and stars, an animated talking moon to introduce each half of the show, and a video screen occasionally prompting the lyrics that the kids already knew by heart, Jepsen's live approach is incredibly earnest, but full of genuine feeling, and she had the crowd in the palm of her hand (and on their feet) for the whole time. While some big pop shows eschew an onstage backing band for dancers, Carly had a four-piece band with her, plus two backup vocalists (who she engaged in a little light choreography with from time to time). Instead of the rigors tightly-scripted performance piece, it gave the proceedings the spontaneous feeling of a celebration with all of your friends, and invited tons of dancing and singing along from the crowd.
"I hope you will sing this next song with me," Carly said at one point in the show, "it's the law." She then launched into "Call Me Maybe," the 2012 smash hit that rocketed her to stardom. Rather than saving it for the encore she featured it towards the middle of the set, and with the enthusiasm of a brand new single walked out onto the wings of the stage to engage with as much of the crowd as possible.