Robyn kick-started her one-off show at L.A.’s Fonda Theatre on Wednesday night with a supremely appropriate song choice: “Missing U.”
After all, it’s been more than six years since the Swedish dance-pop icon mounted a full-length concert, so the 2018 Honey lead single’s lyrics “There’s this empty space you left behind” equally spoke to both the eager fans and to the performer who’s only popped up onstage for an occasional guest appearance or two-to-three-song set since 2019.
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But Wednesday’s Spotify x Acne Studios concert wasn’t completely out of the blue: Last week, Robyn returned with “Dopamine,” her first new music since Honey, and during the unexpectedly robust 15-song set, she performed for the first time the pulsing ode to trusting your body’s chemical urges. The crowd made sure to cheer extra loud at the end of that special one, leaving Robyn with a shy smile and shaking her head in disbelief at the warm reception less than a week after the song’s release.
And while she played her newest song on Wednesday night, Robyn didn’t reach all the way back to her ’90s pop origins to play her oldest, instead going as far back as 2002’s “Blow Your Mind” and playing hits and fan favorites from her self-titled 2007 reintroduction album (“Be Mine!,” “Cobrastyle,” “With Every Heartbeat”), her 2010 Body Talk opus (“Call Your Girlfriend,” “Don’t F—ing Tell Me What to Do,” “Hang With Me”) and her more recent album Honey (“Ever Again,” “Between the Lines,” title track), as well as highlights from her collaborative work with fellow Swedes Röyksopp and La Bagatelle Magique.
Another Body Talk showstopper was “Dancing on My Own,” thanks to Robyn letting the crowd take the wheel for the song’s first cathartic chorus, of which they gamely belted out every word. Instead of attempting to restart the chorus, Robyn just went on to the second verse and kept the mass dance party grooving. She and her band left the stage after that one, only to return for a magical three-song encore that left the 1,200-capacity crowd (or at least us) just feeling greedy at the embarrassment of dance-pop riches.
You can find the full 15-song setlist for the Spotify x Acne Studios concert below: