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FRIDAYZ LIVE
@ Engie Stadium, Sydney
18th October, 2025
(Live Review)

Review by Celine May

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Fridayz Live touched down in Sydney on Saturday, October 18th at Engie Stadium, confirming that the spirit of R&B is is truly well and alive in Sydney. The impeccable lineup— featuring Jordin Sparks, Tinie Tempah, Lil Jon, Wiz Khalifa, Mr Worldwide Pitbull, and the iconic Mariah Carey— delivered a massive, euphoric wave of nostalgia. The event was essentially one huge party, a tribute to our childhoods, bringing together the best of early 2000s R&B and hip-hop. As a majority of songs were key tracks used in movies, there was also a sense of nostalgia from films, further creating a wholesome experience.

The energy was truly spectacular and abundantly clear to the public, with a high volume of attendees embracing the spirit of the era through their outfits. A sea of bald caps, b&w suits, fake facial hair, and aviator sunglasses, resembling Pitbull, flooded the transport and streets. I can confidently say I would have spotted at least 500 look-a-likes. Many could not find bald caps and resorted to cutting up nude stockings, balloons, paint, wrapping paper… anything would do. This dedicated fandom was even catered to by the event organisers with a “Pitbull Experience” official pre-party, including live DJs and MC, merchandise give aways, meet and greet with the agents, as well as a pitbull look-a-like contest. This Experience was free entry and limited capacity, which was a great incentive and creative engagement strategy. Other concert-goers sported jerseys for rappers like Eve or dazzling, sparkly attire for Mariah, cementing the sense of community and celebration.

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Tinie Tempah / Photo – Jess Gleeson

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Tinie Tempah / Photo – Jordan Munns

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With Jordan Sparks kicking off the show at 5pm in the afternoon sun, the schedule was tight and seamless. With sets averaging around 30 minutes for the earlier artists, there was never a dull moment. The largest gap between performers was perhaps 15 minutes, allowing for trips to the bar or rest breaks. The stadium gradually filled up in the first 2-3 hours with people tuning into the performances, making trips to the bar, or making the most of the golden hour by taking group photos. 

In between performances, host Kat Sasso, and the DJ maintained the energy levels, spinning 2000s pop hits from artists like Chris Brown, Ice Cube, Nicki Minaj, Haddaway, and Rihanna. They also engaged the audience with interactive elements, encouraging attendees to scan a QR code to participate in love polls or to submit selfies for stadium-wide recognition. There were also polls to determine what track the DJ played next, such as Icona Pop’s “I Love It” versus Disco Lines and Tinashe’s “No Broke Boys.” Kat also brought two women on stage, wearing dazzling Mariah-resembling attire, and announced they had won a Meet & Greet with Mariah, which, as expected, left them in shock, shaking, and crying.

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Jordin Sparks / Photo – Jordan Munns

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Jordin Sparks 

The show opened strong with Jordin Sparks, whose raw, powerful vocals immediately shone through. Supported by dancers (whose choreography she occasionally joined), she powered through a string of her greatest hits such as “No Air,” “Battlefield,” “Tattoo,” “One Step at a Time.” A special, sentimental moment came when she brought out our very own Guy Sebastian for a gorgeous duet of his 2009 hit which she featured on, “Art of Love,” 15 years after its release. Her undeniable talent, without reliance on backing tracks, proved she was a class act. It was a real shame her set wasn’t longer. 

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Tinie Tempah / Photo – Jordan Munns

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Tinie Tempah 

Tinie Tempah brought the energy, encouraging the crowd with calls to “put your hands up,” and moving across the stage to give every corner attention, seemingly enjoying his time so much he played for 35 minutes instead of the scheduled 30. With the sun still out and hitting hard, he wore bright red pants, dim sunglasses, and was shirtless; noticeable abs on display. He shared that it had been a long time since he’d toured Australia before launching into fan-favourites like “Written in the Stars”, “Miami 2 Ibiza” and “Girls Like”, The production for his set was quite simple — smoke cannons and an early 2000s-style Windows Media Player visualiser, showing swirls of red, blue, and purple. I think further stage production, or perhaps a night-time set, would have really amplified the atmosphere.

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Eve / Photo – Jordan Munns

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Eve 

Eve delivered a fun, jam-packed set, encapsulating the benefit of festival-like events like this: you get the best hits. Radiating confidence, she strutted and danced alongside her five hip-hop dancers, starting strong with “Who’s That Girl” and flowing into iconic r&b tracks, such as “Rich Girl” (her collaboration with Gwen Stefani), “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” and “Tambourine,” which instantly sparked flashbacks to iconic film scenes, such as in Wild Child. She commented that our singing was gorgeous. Her background visuals, a mix of music video clips and 3D trippy graphics, added to her stage presence.

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Lil Jon / Photo – Jess Gleeson

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Lil Jon 

As the sun began to set, Lil Jon took the stage and hit us with hard-hitting raps and energy. Stepping out in denim, heavy chains, sunnies, and a red snapback, he went straight to yelling into the mic, amplified by trippy visuals of flashes, flames, and glitches. His set was a non-stop barrage of anthems, including “Snap Yo Fingers”, “Turn Down for What”, “Salt Shaker” and “Get Low”— prompting everyone to point to the window then to the wall. He also remixed Saweetie’s “My Type”, Usher’s “Yeah”, The Black Eyed Peas’ “Pump It” and DMX’s “Party Up”, among others. Very cool. The stage production, which included backdrops of Lil Jon as a 3D animated character, digital game-style visuals, and strobe lights elevated his set and style, setting a nightclub mood now that it was dark. His stage lights and production were more impactful as light dimmed.

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Lil Jon / Photo – Jordan Munns

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Wiz Khalifa 

Wiz Khalifa maintained and amplified the momentum that Lil Jon built. With the stadium illuminated by stage lights and the stadium now almost full capacity, the party turned up. His set was incredibly fun and diverse, starting with his more chill tracks “Roll Up” and “We Dem Boyz,” mixing it up with his collaboration with Empire of the Sun’s “The Thrill” and Maroon 5’s “Payphone”. He then reeled back to “Black and Yellow”, played Ty Dolla $ign’s saucy “Or Nah,” and went back to the hazy vibe with Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode”. Giant inflatable blunts released into the crowd added to the atmosphere and Wiz Khalifa’s brand. The energy was brought down for an emotional piano ballad, “See You Again,” which included a tribute presentation for artists and actors who have passed, starting with Paul Walker, with photos, names, and dates of passing. This presentation appeared routinely updated as it captured the recent passing of Ozzy Osbourne. Wiz integrated speeches throughout the set about being thankful and blessed to be in Australia and perform among great artists he grew up with. His thanks was truly felt and said.

After his fantastic set, the interactive elements continued with quizzes and polls. The person with the most correct answers won a merch prize pack, a nice touch to the night, however the Wi-Fi reception was very poor, so not sure how people participated, perhaps reception was better in the outer, seated parts of the stadium.

At this point, while the crowd believed next up was Mr. Worldwide, Lil Jon made a random and surprising appearance at an elevated stand/tent in the centre of the stadium ground, where he played several songs including “Shots” and Fatman Scoop and The Crooklyn Clan’s “Be Faithful.”

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Lil Jon / Photo – Jordan Munns

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Pitbull 

The time had come for Mr. Worldwide, Mr 305. Pitbull graced the stage promptly at 8:30 PM for a 1.5-hour set, wearing an all-black suit, somehow managing to perform in a zipped-up leather jacket. Accompanied by his female, predictably half-dressed dancers, he delivered an expectedly seamless, roaring, upbeat set, consistently speaking between songs to hint at the following tracks. His performance was exactly what the crowd wanted, a full blown party, though afterward, a noticeable swarm of attendees in bald caps made their exit, which made way for Mariah fans in GA to edge closer and have much closer spots.

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Mariah Carey / Photo – Jess Gleeson

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Mariah Carey 

Mariah Carey, the headliner, came on slightly early at 9:55pm, supported by all-male dancers and a choir. Her set utilised minimal production, with moving water, smoke, or sun-like light as the backdrop. Initially, she spoke less than the other artists, appearing stiff, low energy and almost robotic for the first half of her set, slow with her movements, and conscious of her appearance, which was underwhelming. However, the second half saw her noticeably warm up. She showcased her phenomenal vocals live (yes, definitely with backing vocals, but still undeniably singing), and engaged more with the crowd by dainty waves, noticing a lot of shirts, signs, and items in the crowd that she’d love to take but couldn’t. At one point, she iconically called for her makeup team to fix her makeup, saying, “Can I have a glam moment?”. She seemed more natural and comfortable on stage. She performed primarily love ballads, and a few upbeat tracks. “Obsessed” was a crowd favourite. Her performance would have benefited from a bit more stage production and camera work; the cameras used the same angle. She concluded with “All I want for Christmas is you”, which caused an uproar, because not only is it a Christmas staple, but she had not played it previously in Brisbane. I heard the jingle bells and saw the snow falling back drop, and lit up. Fantastic surprise. Perfect way to end the night. I wouldn’t say it was a phenomenal 1 hour but it was an impressive set, after a few songs.

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Mariah Carey / Photo – Jess Gleeson

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Overall, Fridayz Live was an impressive, incredibly fun night, leaving attendees with a powerful sense of community, belonging, and shared nostalgia. The event timeline and diverse artists created a non-stop party that truly celebrated the best of early 2000s music.

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Photo – Jordan Munns

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AMNPLIFY – DB