Being an opening act can be tough. People are often still arriving to the venue and aren’t always familiar with the music, but while performing at The Greek Theatre as the opening act for Meghan Trainor Friday night, Hailee Seinfeld didn’t seem to have any trouble holding the crowd’s attention…with the help of a little glitz.
Steinfeld’s seven-song set started with a couple of her back-up dancers walking on stage throwing glitter around. When she took the stage, she seemed completely comfortable, stopping between songs to tell cute but personable stories and even blowing a dust of glitter herself during one of the small interludes of choreographed dancing.
Hailee Steinfeld has often been given the dubious title of “actress-turned-singer” in the press in reference to her breakout performance in the film True Grit. Onstage at The Greek, the singer explained that she started singing and acting at the same time, and it just so happened that acting took off first and consumed her time for awhile. It wasn’t until Steinfeld landed a part in Pitch Perfect 2 that she was able to segue into her other passion of singing.
This was the story told right before Hailee sang her song “Flashlight” from the a’capella-based dramedy. Though a cute song, it was probably my least favorite of the night. It wasn’t bad by any means, but being a song from a movie, it seemed the least personal and not something I would download to my iPod anytime soon. Still, I can see why she included it as it does represent a milestone in her career.
My favorite songs of the night were Steinfeld’s new single “Starving,” a collaboration with Zedd, one of my favorite DJs, and “Hell Nos and Headphones.” Pop can easily sound like trite background noise if a singer obviously doesn’t connect with the lyrics, but that wasn’t the case at all with this track.
While the song is in the same vein as Alessia Cara’s popular hit “Here,” it doesn’t come off as a straight-up copy. It alludes to Steinfeld’s personal history growing up in LA and how even though she isn’t interested in the same “activities” that seem to be popular amongst the crowds of transplants and hipsters, she reminds the listener that she was here long before they were (and will probably be here long after)”
“And they all look me up and down like I’m the fucking new kid / But I saw the sun rise on this town way before you did.”
“I just, just wanna be alone / No, I don’t care ’bout what you think / I’m going home / Yeah, I’ll stick with hell no’s and headphones.”
Ending her set with her song “Love Myself” was a perfect segue into the body acceptance-touting headliner Meghan Trainor. During the call and response portion, Hailee asked the crowd if they loved themselves and had them yell it out, fitting seamlessly into a night of girl-power pop.
As she left the stage, Steinfeld shouted, “I love you LA and I’ll see you soon.” If she keeps putting out music with such personal and yet relatable messages alongside collaborations with hit-makers like Zedd, I have no doubt she will be back soon and not as a opening act.
Hailee Steinfeld Setlist:
You’re Such A
Rock Bottom
Flashlight
Hell Nos And Headphones
Love Yourself (Justin Bieber cover)
Starving
Love Myself