Kehlani To Perform Full Album For The First Time In Virtual Concert

Quite a bit has changed for Kehlani since she first announced the release date of her second studio album, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t in April of 2020. For starters, the Oakland-born singer had just turned twenty-five at the time of her announcement. And just three weeks ago, she celebrated her twenty-sixth birthday. One year may not seem like it would make that much of a difference, but Kehlani believes there’s a transformation that happens between twenty-five and twenty-six. It’s as though an invisible line is crossed once you’re “on the other side” of your twenties, as Kehlani describes in an Instagram post. Suddenly, you’re wiser, more assertive, and much more sure of yourself. And when you’re sure of yourself, you move differently. You move with intention and independence. Perhaps, this is why Kehlani says the theme of this year is “autonomy.”

“I think that I learned a lot [and that] I can navigate my life exactly the way that I want to,” the “Change Your Life” singer tells Teen Vogue.

The other drastic change that has occurred since the announcement is that we’ve been in a pandemic for over a year. City and statewide lockdowns paired with social distancing measures have notably mutated the music industry as we know it. Kehlani, however, quickly adapted. Quarantine videos and album covers were shot at her home — sometimes with her toddler in tow. Music was recorded and released from her garage. And despite the obstacles, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t was widely successful, even peaking at number two on the Billboard charts. Through this experience, the twenty-something admits that she learned to separate industry fluff from the essentials that are required to put out great music.

“I mean, we dropped an album independently and I just learned that you can get a lot done with a little,” says Kehlani. “A lot of the things that I thought that I needed to put things out, I actually didn’t. I mean, granted, they’re really beautiful things and they make things a lot bigger when it’s time, but a lot of things are just fluff around the actual work so we got to put out a lot of homegrown things, which is really cool.”

Kehlani continues to demonstrate tenacity and agility. Not one to be held back by the restrictions of the pandemic, the “Can I” singer is set to put on a live performance titled, “It Was Live Until It Wasn’t” on Monday, May 10 and again on Tuesday, May 11. It’s the first time that fans will witness the songstress perform the album in full. The virtual show will take place on NoCap — a virtual concert platform with limitless “seating.” “There is NoCap on the tickets. meaning there is no ‘selling out,” Kehlani tweeted two days ahead of the live event.

Additionally, she wanted to connect with fans in a way that was safe for all attendees.

“I mean, I’m still being safe, you know. I’m still being very mindful of people who don’t want to leave their houses and people who can’t leave their houses, compromised people,” Kehlani says of her decision to hold a virtual performance over an in-person one. “I’m choosing not to put a bunch of people in a room. To me, that just doesn’t seem logical. It’s just a decision about health.”

More than anything, Kehlani wants fans to “see how much work” was poured into making the live show a memorable experience.

“I got a whole new team for that,” Kehlani says of the upcoming performance, which she promises will be a fresh experience that fans have yet to witness. “I’m gonna keep [them] forever, but I did get a whole new team. I got a whole new band. I got all new dancers. We just came really fresh and new and worked really hard.”

For more information on the show, go here.