July 3rd marked the first time Australian pop fairy Peach PRC headlined her own concert in London, and there’s no venue more suitable for the lesbian singer to do so than LGBTQ+ nightclub Heaven. Pride flags were up on either side of the standing pit, where young girls, boys and theys all dressed in 50 shades of pink came together in anticipation and admiration. Once Peach set foot on stage – with her long pink hair, short white glitter costume, massive heels and signature pink glitter fairy wings – her radiant energy immediately took over the whole place.
Her intro melody was a mash-up of ‘Love Me’ by The 1975, her favourite band that she stated inspired her songwriting, and ‘Stars Are Blind’ by Paris Hilton, a song she sampled in one of her own – ‘Perfect For You’ – which was cleverly decided to be the first song of the night. Besides her guitarist, she was joined by two dancers on stage, who were naturally also dressed in all pink. The screen behind her lit up with her name on different pastel-coloured backgrounds, surrounded by moving butterflies, hearts or glitter.
Peach’s Barbie Fairytopia-esque presence, mixed with everything Y2K that was going on on stage and her soft, high-pitched yet incredibly powerful voice singing catchy pop tunes, evoked feelings of childhood nostalgia, especially for those who grew up in the early 2000s.
The first couple of songs she performed were ones she released quite early in her discography and before she blew up on TikTok, yet the whole room was singing the lyrics with her, which she emotionally stated made her feel “so special”. As she spotted multiple fairy wings sticking up in the audience, she declared they are going to make her sob, which she eventually did when her vocals were drowned out by the crowd on the last chorus of “Favourite Person”. Peach also took the time to shed light on her mental struggles, which most fans who have been following her on social media are aware of, by saying that she feels “silly” for ranting on TikTok sometimes and that she just wants to “be perfect” for her fans – but owning up to her own vulnerability is exactly what makes her a good songwriter and so relatable as a person.
Besides old and new originals, her setlist also included three covers, ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ by Wheatus, ‘Escape’ by Enrique Iglesias and ‘What Dreams Are Made Of’ by Hillary Duff – all three of them adding to the Y2K feel that Peach as well as her audience thoroughly enjoyed. Every single detail of the show, from her glowing entrance to the way she magically disappeared in a haze of confetti, was so well thought out it seemed unreal, like straight out of a movie.
Peach PRC is a true bubblegum pop icon, in the most literal sense, unlike anyone we have ever seen before. And after a while of trying to figure out who to compare her to so non-listeners or people who have never even seen her before would understand, the conclusion is that this is simply impossible to do. She is one of a kind, which is what makes her so unique and such a pleasure to have witnessed, and what makes us incredibly confident in her further career and the legacy she is creating. The happiest place on earth is not Disneyland, it’s a Peach PRC concert.
Written by Vicky Madzak // photography by Jess Gleeson
GEM Magazine 