Joji Brings SOLARIS to the O2 Arena in London
Written and Captured By | Emily Snelling
After performing at Gunnersbury Park in 2023 to an audience of 25,000 people, Joji finally made his debut at London’s O2 Arena — a venue British artists strive to play. Two years later, his return to London felt like a natural progression for an artist whose audience has continued to grow far beyond his humble internet beginnings.
Joji, born George Kusunoki Miller, has established himself as one of alternative pop’s most recognisable artists, building a career around emotional songwriting, atmospheric production and a distinct blend of ballads and heavier tracks. His latest album, Piss In The Wind, is the focus of his current SOLARIS tour.
The venue was packed with a unique energy, something I haven’t experienced in a long time — a diverse mix of fans with a dynamic age range, likely from multiple eras of Joji, or George Miller’s, life, all coming together to appreciate his music under one roof. There were several references as a homage to his virtual footprint, alongside admiration for his current work.
Warming up the stage was Tommy Richman, a Virginian-based SoundCloud artist who went viral in 2024 via TikTok with his major hit “Million Dollar Baby”, and consequently gained momentum with his successful album release. Due to his internet fame, his audience merged well alongside the original Joji fans, who found him through YouTube or SoundCloud back in early 2018, or even earlier than that as Pink Guy in 2014 or Filthy Frank in 2012.
Tommy had a great stage presence, interacting with the audience throughout his set, hyping them up with some debut album tracks, a David Bowie mashup, and ending strong with “Million Dollar Baby”.
Both Joji and Richman fans also share a likeness in simply appreciating good music. Joji may have had his share of viral moments, but they exist separately from his music career. After working hard to forge his own path within the industry and establish himself as a distinct, serious artist, he has built a much wider and more diverse listening base compared to just internet fans. I think this is what makes his concert so unique, since the audience really is such a vastly different group of people — all coming together to appreciate good music.
The short wait between the end of Tommy’s set and the start of Joji’s went very quickly, as the crowd were excitedly chanting, talking and entertaining each other in a really wholesome manner.
Joji’s stage entrance was quick and enticing, and he held nothing back by going straight into the two heaviest bass hits from his new album, “Pixelated Kisses” and “Sojourn”. This immediately sent the crowd into a spiral, and energy levels were at an all-time high.
No one would think otherwise if Joji owned the stage himself, singing over a backing track — but something I found incredibly inspiring was the use of a live band; truly a testament to the love of music and the true admiration of what live music is at its core. The band were a perfect fit and elevated every track to such beautiful heights, especially since Joji’s discography is a mix of emotional ballads like “Glimpse of Us” and “Die For You”, alongside harder-hitting tracks such as “Yeah Right”, “Sanctuary” and “Gimme Love”. A lot of the piano instrumentals filling the room were absolutely stunning and really stood out for me.
I was also impressed with how balanced the setlist was; his more energetic songs were padded out with the ballads to give the crowd moments of respite between crazy jumping and dancing. It never felt too slow or too high-paced, which was especially important due to the severe heat we have been enduring in London this summer. Even throughout the slower ballads, the crowd was entranced, singing along wholeheartedly.
Joji’s vocals are strong and captivating; the emotional weight his vocals carry through every song is impressive and effortless in such a manner that even without all of the stage theatrics, visuals and live music, all you would need is him and a microphone.
The stage design was very simple but effective, having layers of large LCD screens portray unique visuals per song, with a very heavy emphasis on space-inspired visuals, such as a night sky display, several iterations of the sun and some finale confetti cannons, which overall was perfectly on theme for the SOLARIS tour.
I did notice some differences in comparison to the American leg of the tour, noticeably the lack of a levitating stage and a humanoid robot that was making an appearance, but even without those features, the tour wasn’t lacking and I don’t think any of the crowd would’ve been any the wiser.
A key moment to me was the use of a half-functioning T-shirt cannon, which was used for some fun crowd interaction, as well as a very emotional crowd who surprisingly spent a lot more time in the moment than they did recording or using their phones. I think people just connected so heavily with the music that they wanted to experience the moment, which I thought was really refreshing.
The show eventually closed out with “Slow Dancing in the Dark”, a fitting final track for a night that had moved so naturally between the heavier moments and Joji’s more emotional ballads. Hearing the entire arena sing it back felt like the perfect way to bring the night to a close.
I think the O2 Arena show was a huge success and a testament to how stable Joji’s career has become in the UK. It was really refreshing to see such a diverse crowd all come together and connect over his music, and I think that says a lot about how much his audience has grown over the years. I hope the London crowd was welcoming enough for Joji to want to visit us again in the future, because I think it’s safe to say we’d happily have him back.
