On a Monday (Mar. 16), Justine Skye had New York City going way, way up.
If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought that Skye had been doing this for years, as fans maneuvered their way through the packed house at SOB’s to find a good seat to watch the self-proclaimed Purple Unicorn do her thing. For this to be the 19-year-old’s very first headlining show, she had a lot to prove. But she came prepared – well prepared to be exact.
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Rocking a black fringe leather jacket, a sheer top accompanied by a bralet and black shorts, Ms. Skye made her way to the stage doing a very graceful version of the Shmoney dance as Travis Scott’s “Don’t Play” blared through the speakers. Apparently, Justine had come to show and prove. “Can somebody tell me where Brooklyn at?” the BK native asked while grabbing the mic.
She kicked off the sold-out show with her latest track “Trap Queen (SkyeMix)” – a remix of Fetty Wap’s infectious “Trap Queen” tune that had everyone up on their feet and hitting their Nae-Naes in unison. But before she broke the people off with the ultimate Justine Skye experience, she took a quick breather.
“You know this all came from Tumblr right?,” she smiled and laughed gesturing to the sea of smiling faces and lit cell phone screens that captured her every move. “A lot of people told me I was just going to be this Tumblr girl and just do covers on YouTube forever. So, just so you know it’s real – I’m here,” she said following her statement up with a shout out to her Atlantic Records team.
She then slowed things down presenting a sexy, more sensual side that we hadn’t witnessed before from the rising star. From remixing it for low with “Trap Queen” to crooning on the lusty track “End Of October,” her backup dancers grabbed a male from the audience and engaged in a session of soft-core striptease as Justine serenaded her subject and the audience with her enticing lyrics of love and physical attraction.
As the night progressed, Skye commanded the stage with her pitch-perfect vocals. It’s quite seldom you see an artist live and their vocals live up to the hype, but there are no gimmicks when it comes to Justine; she’s the real deal. She journeyed the audience into a quick throwback jam session covering Janet Jackson’s sultry hits “Any Time, Any Place” and “I Get So Lonely” and a mash up of Brandy’s “Baby” and Biggie’s “One More Chance.” Like a veteran, she worked the crowd – teasing her infamous purple tresses, flaunting her mean model strut across stage, and joining her fierce backup dancers in a two-step and an occasional stripper kick here-and-there, that was met with a roar of applause from the crowd.
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As her ride-or-die #UnicornNation vibed out to her melodic tunes she turned the show up a notch as she ventured into songs from her first EP, Everyday Living. First up was fan-favorite “Messing With You” featuring Joey Bada$$, and of course the Pro Era rapper came through with daps and pounds, hitting the stage and rocking the crowd with Justine as they killed their duet. Then, it became a real lituation when A$AP Ferg made a surprise appearance. The rambunctious A$AP Mob rapper blessed the crowd with his breakout hit “Work” and contender “Shabba” and the crowd went wild. Mosh pit style.
No intermission was needed for this young lady. Ferg alley-ooped the mic back to Justine and she continued where he left off, gracing the stage once again and closing out the night with new material from her upcoming project, Emotionally Unavailable. And for the grand finale, Justine brought things full circle, ending the show with her debut single, “Collide” featuring Tyga. With not one still body in the entire venue, the crowd fed off of Justine’s super turnt-up energy.
SEE ALSO: New Video: Justine Skye Featuring Tyga ‘Collide’
After this headlining SOB’s performance, it’s safe to say that Justine Skye is well on her way to stardom. From Internet sensation to Atlantic Records signee, this 19-year-old’s tenacity and will power proves that her fame is within arm’s reach.
Congrats, Justine.