Live Review: Oh…My…Lorde – Ultrasound World Tour 2026 in Perth
25 February 2026 at RAC Arena Perth
Review by Sheldon Ang (top) and Mia Oughton (bottom).
Oh My Lorde indeed, and it wouldn’t have been sacrilegious if we’d gone so far as to say, “Oh my God.”
Lorde (born Ella Marija Lani Yelich‑O’Connor) chose her stage name out of a fascination with royalty and aristocracy. Tonight, she devoured the crowd’s attention, holding her stance like a Queen Bee among her legions of fans. She pranced across the stage like a hypnotic character from a fairytale, but dressed in a top and denim jeans for half of the night. She was the epitome of the girl‑next‑door, a rags‑to‑riches figure who didn’t need to flaunt her physical beauty; it radiated naturally through her stage vibe.
After the opening act by Kevin Abstract, the lights turned blue – the same shade you see in the public toilets in Blacktown back in the 80’s. The anticipation sharpened. The cacophony and echoing chatter were constant.
At 9:03pm, the lights went out. A glitchy, warbling electronic texture set the mood, almost drowned by the hysteria of the 15,000‑strong crowd. A laser pointed directly at her crouch, while another set of beams flickered from above, in cadence with a futuristic, urban night‑time vibe.
Then the beat dropped like a boss. This is Hammer. True to the title, Lorde pounded the stage like a tonne of bricks, radiating genuine happiness. The crowd followed, creating a seismic wave bigger than the outback ones in WA. No pyros – just meticulously curated lasers, a razor‑sharp lighting show, and a sound system built to wrap around her voice and presence.
By 9:07pm, we were already overwhelmed by the blitzkrieg pace. The lights dimmed again.
We’d barely recovered when another beat snapped through the air; that finger‑click percussion punch. A surprise to see Royals so early in the set. The Grammy‑winning Song of the Year (2014) that shot Lorde to global stardom arrived second. The crowd sang the opening verse a cappella while she stood mostly still, hands in pockets.
“You can call me Queen Bee.”
You bet – even though the song pushes back against pop culture’s obsession with materialism, it still resonates deeply with her casuals.
Two songs in, we are already on our way to the concert of the year. The start was explosive. The sound system – superb.
Screens flooded the floor like lanterns floating across a lake during a festival. The band was half‑hidden, their bodies emerging only from the waist up, forcing all eyes onto Lorde. Occasionally, they drifted onto the main dancefloor. Dancers weaved hypnotically across the stage, moving as if improvising – random swings, ballerina‑like arcs – all seduced by Lorde’s voice, caught in a trance. The rhythm became the dancer.
The audience skewed heavily towards female teens and the twenty‑somethings, with a scattering of mums and dads.
“I’m really happy to be here tonight. I’m so happy to close the New Zealand and Australia tour right here in Perth.”
So who is Lorde? Asked the latter group. She is a two‑time Grammy winner from Auckland: Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, both for Royals, making her the youngest artist to ever win the former at age 18. Add Brit Awards, Billboard Awards, MTV, WMA, and of course, the New Zealand Music Awards. Yes, 2014 was the breakthrough year, but did it matter tonight if we only knew one track? Absolutely not. Plenty of curious newcomers and plus‑ones walked in only to be overwhelmed by the sheer force of her performance throughout the night.
The night unfolded in four Acts, each defined by its own sonic palette and stage design.
The teasing continued, occasionally on her knees, bouncing up and down, flipping her hair like a ravenous performer with uber sex appeal. The biggest teases were the nuances: lifting her top to reveal her midriff during Perfect Places (closing Act 1), and completely removing her jeans during Current Affair, the second song of Act 2. During Supercut, she lay on the stage singing sideways, followed by an exercise‑themed sequence where she sang while running on a treadmill.
At times, the camera zoomed in on her exposed, sweaty midriff as she caressed it during GRWM, flashing the Calvin Klein waistband. That’s showbiz.
“I’ve never played a room this big before. This is new for us. Anywhere else I’d be intimidated, but because it’s yours – and because it’s us – it feels just right. So beautiful. We had a big explore yesterday. We went to Rotto… it was so, so beautiful. We swam. We felt incredibly grateful to be back in Perth.”
Then came Act 3 – the vulnerability phase. The lights dimmed, the dancers vanished, and a single beam shone down on her. It felt spiritual. Liability, Clearblue, and Man of the Year formed a hat‑trick of ballads.
Man of the Year was perhaps the most jaw‑dropping moment. Her top was removed, her chest covered with electrician’s grey tape. She began seated in the corner, hidden in shadow. As the music built, the lighting intensified. Her vulnerability was exposed to 15,000 people – only for her to rise, literally, on an elevator, reclaiming her identity in a rebirth. Laser beams surrounded her. In that moment, we could confidently say: this performance ranks among her greatest.
From there, the energy surged again. The new Lorde was reborn, especially during Green Light, which detonated into a seismic green wave. The Incredible Hulk could’ve camouflaged in that scene.
She made her way through the crowd during David, before closing the encore on the B‑stage with A World Alone and Ribs.
By then, the fans had done their cardio for the week. The engagement rivalled a Hollywood‑style aerobics instructor.
It was a spiritual experience, said a fan, Sinead O’Hara.
“I feel the kinship with you guys. It’s so special to be here … this version of me. You’ve seen a lot of versions of me. Anyone you meet at 16 will change. I’m still changing. A couple of years ago, I decided I couldn’t keep going… I got stuck somewhere, not letting a few versions of me stay at the table. But the truth is, when you let every part of yourself tell the story of who you are, your life gets richer, fuller, sicker – even the parts that scare others…”
Oh My Lorde indeed.
Sheldon Ang Media would like to thank Frontier Touring and Lorde for the media accreditation
Sheldon Ang Media invited Mia Oughton, a 21 year old Journalist/PR student from Murdoch University to the show. This is her take:
Lorde was magnetic on the stage from the moment she appeared through her stance, energy and costume in a manner that bordered on mythic. Her final performance for the Australian and New Zealand leg of the ‘Ultrasound World Tour’ did not disappoint. The opening beginning with a beam of light spanning across the arena was beautifully reflected in the closing act as she reached her hand up into the light and seemingly cast it further into the crowd. Thick clouds of smoke were coloured by the neon lights deepening the dream-like atmosphere. The concert was an absolute masterclass in mood and tone.
During ‘Buzzcut Season’ Lorde sang into a large set fan with her hair blown back wildly. This liberation was emphasised by the exceptional talents of her backup dancers who moved through each song in contemporary dance with both grace and reckless abandon. Throughout the night the screen behind her would briefly offer glimpses of the rapt crowd screaming the lyrics of each song and holding their hands above their heads in pure euphoria. In particular, there was a stark element of safety and sisterhood in the ocean of young girls singing back to her as they jumped up and down and held onto each other’s shoulders.
More provocative moments throughout songs like ‘current affairs’ and ‘GRWM’ felt more like an act of rebellious artistry than an appeal to any kind of gaze. A delicate line of rhinestones glittered at the beginning of her scalp in contrast with her everyday clothing. The juxtaposition between the soft glimmers of jewels, the neutral jeans and both tentative and aggressive movements on stage skillfully encapsulated the meaning of her most recent 2025 album ‘Virgin’. It was not an embrace of the feminine or the masculine but of herself entirely unencumbered.
This held true as she spoke to the mass crowd stating that she hadn’t before but now wanted to give every version of herself a seat at the table. That she did. Baring her upper torso with nothing but a secure line of silver tape across her chest during ‘Man of the Year’ sent a message. She was not performing to be looked at but to be truly seen. It was these acts of authenticity beyond the synth bass pounding the floor and the wonder of strobe lights that commanded the attention of fans and newcomers across the arena.
Setlist
Act 1
Hammer — Virgin (2025)
Royals — Pure Heroine (2013)
Broken Glass — Virgin (2025)
Buzzcut Season — Pure Heroine (2013)
Favourite Daughter — Virgin (2025)
Perfect Places — Melodrama (2017)
Act 2
Shapeshifter — Virgin (2025)
Current Affairs — Virgin (2025)
Supercut — Melodrama (2017)
GRWM — Virgin (2025)
400 Lux — Pure Heroine (2013)
The Louvre — Melodrama (2017)
Act 3
Oceanic Feeling — Solar Power (2021)
Solar Power — Solar Power (2021)
Liability — Melodrama (2017)
Clearblue — Virgin (2025)
Man of the Year — Virgin (2025)
Act 4
If She Could See Me Now — Virgin (2025)
Team — Pure Heroine (2013)
What Was That — Virgin (2025)
Green Light — Melodrama (2017)
David — Virgin (2025)
Encore (B Stage)
A World Alone — Pure Heroine (2013)
Ribs — Pure Heroine (2013)
About the writer: The founder of Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) has been accredited to more than 200 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), AD/DC, Metallica, KISS, RHCP, P!NK and Suzi Quatro with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, Tina Arena, UB40, Delta Goodrem, and Tina Arena on social media. He has interviewed rockers Mikkel Lentz, Suzi Quatro, Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 100 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist.
About Mia Oughton: Mia is an undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Communications degree with a double major in Journalism and Strategic Communications at Murdoch University in Western Australia. With her love for reading, world affairs, and live music, what better way to kickstart her press journey than by interviewing frontman rockstar Kav Temperley of Eskimo Joe for her first feature!
