What went down at Nathy Peluso’s Bershka show

Last night, Nathy Peluso bewitched the crowd at an intimate gig in celebration of her Bershka collab at Razzmatazz Club, a renowned venue in the heart of Barcelona’s warehouse district, known for its labyrinth layout and sweaty fiestas. The Argentina-born musician put on a performance worthy of megastar status, dressed head-to-toe in a tropical off-the-shoulder unitard with cut-out detail designed especially for her Bershka capsule.

The night kicked off with a queue (as all good nights do) where the who’s who of Spain’s young fashion entourage piled in to catch Peluso’s set. Inside, room one was transformed from its usual dark digs to orange and pink lit walls, the flash of smartphone cameras filling the shadowy corners, and a small stage set alight with the dreamy hues of a Barcelona sunset sat upfront, just a metre from the crowd.

Peluso’s Bershka merch was in full view upon arrival. The collection includes the La Sandunguera-inspired unitard Peluso wore to perform, an all-white halter crop top and matching tracksuit-style trousers with the word “SABOR” (savour) embroidered across the chest, and two tees: one cropped with “NATIKILLAH” emblazoned in diamante; and a unisex tee with “Nathy Peluso” written in gothic typeface across stonewashed cotton and lightning graphics.

Groups gathered around the display as a DJ warmed up the crowd with R&B bangers circa 2000; think Busta Rhymes, Ashanti, Ja Rule, Usher. A nod to Peluso’s far-reaching influences and adoration of hip hop and R&B, and to her selection of tunes for the Nathy Peluso Bershka playlist, this felt like the perfect way to foreground what was to come.

The decks fell silent, and in what appeared to be one sudden surge, the crowd rushed forward to get as close to Peluso as humanly possible. Peluso stormed on stage, taking her time to drink in the rapturous roars, thanking “mi gente” (my people in English) for coming. Peluso’s band started with some stripped-back, soulful jazz beats while Peluso delivered an emotive lyrical melody, holding the room in a silence so deep that you could have heard the faint drag of a vape. But then the beat dropped, and Peluso launched into “Hot Butter”, a Latin-infused, neo-soul track that set the stage for her signature dance movements.

Theatrical, experimental, flirtatious; Peluso’s background training in dance and physical theatre was the second person on stage last night. While her music defies categorisation with its mix of hip hop, Latin soul, salsa, jazz and bossa nova, her visual imagery is confronting and dramatic, and refreshingly, unapologetically sexual. Peluso moved through her tracklist with almost unimaginable energy, performing songs like “La Sandunguera” and “Ma Time” as nearly everyone in the crowd shouted the lyrics back at her. At one point, a girl standing in the front row had tears in her eyes from uncontainable excitement.

Peluso is not only a shapeshifting pop star and creative dancer who has achieved a huge online following, but she is a phenomenal singer who can rap one minute, and hit the hardest notes the next. Her whole vibe invoked the sound of early Amy Winehouse mixed with the attitude of Cardi B. A heady mix, there’s no doubt.

Peluso ended the dizzying set with her new single “Natikillah”, and let’s just say, the crowd went wild. “What you wanna know about me?” she sang repeatedly in the chorus. People want to know a lot more, that’s for sure.

Nathy Peluso’s show is the second of six live events at venues across six cities, as part of On Stage // Off Stage, curated by Dazed and Bershka. Listen to a playlist curated by Nathy Peluso below.