2HOLLIS IS A STAR!

With a Europe tour wrapped up, its clear 2hollis is about to be a pop sensation. Is he ready?

2hollis' music has been a large part of my listening history for a good few years now, so when the opportunity to see him live finally presented itself, I didn't hesitate to get tickets. I knew I needed to see him since I saw those photos of him performing on that ladder at the Perfectly Imperfect show in 2023. But between then and now, this new wave of 2hollis fans who discovered the Chicago native through Ken Carson and TikTok undeniably changed the 2hollis concert environment, taking him from niche internet sensation to next-up superstar.

I have a vague memory from when I was about 15 of seeing friends' Instagram stories the night they saw Carti on the Whole Lotta Red tour four years ago. I remember the videos being terrible: shaky, unfocused, and usually soundtracked by teens screaming the whole show. We didn't know it then, but that record and Carti's performances would define a generation of young concertgoers desperate to unleash themselves to distorted 808s and watch similarly-aged musicians react the same way on stage. If I were a more pretentious music blogger than I already am, I would tell you it's because they want to "escape reality's cruelty." But no, it just turns out that moshing to absurdist emo-flavored electro-pop is fun. I've done it enough times to know.

"It's just post-Carti, honestly." - 2hollis

The line into Covent Garden's Gay club/venue, Heaven, looked like what's becoming a familiar scene to me, despite having never been to the venue. It was a sea of familiar looks and even some faces: the line swagged out in their skinny jeans, maximalist makeup looks, loads of jewelry, and thrifted statement pieces. It's a defining look for London's current Indie Sleaze scene. I don't know how they mosh in it, though. The furry leg warmers and multi-layered tops aren't exactly pit material.

Heaven's location in a tunnel spotted with ethnic food spots hidden aside a busy Central London street felt like a fitting space for an "underground" show like this. The further into the venue you'd go, the deeper underground it went, all before opening into a dimly lit industrial-styled concert hall fitted with a tight steel mezzanine and sound booth that added to the hall's coolness factor. The floor was packed, and the mezzanine quickly became a tight squeeze. Everyone bubbled with excitement, ready to see 2hollis jumpstyle across the stage. But before that, 2hollis' close friend and collaborator Nate Sib would warm the crowd up.

Nate Sib's music replicates the Bieber-fever flare of the early 2010s with a Drain Gang and PC Music twist. The 20-year-old (I can't believe these guys are only a year or two older than me) was a fan-favorite artist among concertgoers, most of which let loose and threw themselves at each other to the idyllic pop melodies and contrasting rage-trap bass hits that define Sib's catalog of future hits. While Sib's set only lasted half an hour, he became a living pop sensation. Sib and 2hollis are somewhat of a testimony to the positive effects recession pop had on us, but still, the benefits remain few and far between.

In the wait for the main act, the floor quickly filled to the brim, the bobbing crowd of heads looking like a Fortnite lobby. There was an antsiness in the air, anxious yet excited for the floor to become a warzone the moment 2hollis would appear on stage. At a moment's notice, the lights dropped, and the now-iconic sound of Minecraft fireworks and speeding cars filled the air with every phone in sight, and he appeared, opening his set with the fan favorite Gold. The cult-like appreciation for the blond giant translated seamlessly into real life, the crowd ecstatic and screaming the song's nonchalant lyrics louder than 2hollis himself.

Returning to the Carti comments from earlier, I saw the pits turn into an etiquette-less masterpiece. For Gen-Z, there's an inherent link between distortion and letting loose. While it can certainly be overkill, the crashing, shoving, and jumping creates an unspoken bond like no other, and as Gold ended and Say It Again began, I found myself walking down the stairs and toward the crowd.

Say It Again was the first time I saw 2hollis up on stage, the mezzanine too packed to see anything: shades on, jacket left open and shirtless, and his golden picturesque hair knotted in pigtails. He spun and danced sporadically, matching the crowd's unfettered energy, lights flickering along with the track's unkempt nature, almost hiding his lengthy figure. There was an unspoken synergy between him and the crowd, a mutual understanding that there are no limits as long as the music's playing.

Each track played was met with unrelenting excitement, whether it was the trap rager Sidekick or the future-garage-inspired Sister. The energy was unmatched, 2hollis muttering quips about each track before throwing himself about the stage and gutturally screaming along to his songs. There was an underlying humor in watching a crowd of sweaty, opium-adoring teen dudes singing along to the sappiness of tracks like the electro-rock tunes Cliche and Whiplash, but for music and audiences like this, its progress in moving away from the sexist nature of rage music's lyricism.

As the set begins to reach the final stretch, Nate Sib reappears to perform the chip-tune electro-pop track Afraid, opening the floor for Hollis' other friends to pop up on stage, performing soundcloud-exclusive tracks like Ouu with Rommulas and eventually Jeans, four times over. There wasn't a chance he wouldn't play it. And when he did, the entire floor was jumping. At this point, I had crawled up to the barrier and watched as everyone pushed forward, screaming the song word for word with more rage than any track yet. It's an internet anthem and most of the crowd was there. Without Jeans, 2hollis would still be performing on ladders in dingy New York City clubs.

"ITS THE JEEEEAAAAANNNNSSSS SONGGGGG!"

Once 2hollis and co disappeared off stage for the night, the crowd spilled out into the center of Covent Garden, many of which were headed to the after-party on the opposite side of the city, drenched in sweat and definitely missing at least one accessory. I hung around, waiting to get a photo before leaving, and when the gold-haired giant appeared, the first thing I heard in the distance was, "2HOLLIS OH MY GOD I LOVE YOUUUU." Quickly being bombarded by fans asking for everything from photos and videos to signed Pokemon cards and water bottles. It was an overwhelming sense of fandom, and when seeing scenes like this, you can understand his anxiety surrounding fame; the key theme on his newest release, Star. Only time can tell if he'll be able to handle it, but until then, there's no stopping "The White Tiger.”

---