Latin singer & rapper Young Miko brought her ‘Xoxo’ tour to Phoenix, Arizona to an energetic and hilarious crowd.
As the crowd walked to their seats, they were greeted with an adorable loading screen, little pink hearts filling up in anticipation of Miko’s arrival on stage. The last heart filled up and the venue filled with cheers and screams as the lights went black.
The stage lights came on and Miko was on stage, sitting on a bed alone. She started the show with ‘rookie of the year’, the crowd happily screaming along to every line but especially, “Les pregunto cuál es su type, me dicen ‘Tú, Baby Miko’.”
Miko’s stage presence is amazing to watch. As many of her fans know that she is openly lesbian, she plays into sex appeal very well, often dancing in ways that caused the crowd to clap and cheer loudly, and smiling to herself as she did it.
However, this sex appeals only lasts for so long before Miko is flashing adorable smiles, holding up heart hands, and making other cute gestures to fans. Despite the large number of people crowding the pit, Miko seemingly paid attention to every single person. It’s abundantly clear that she deeply loves and appreciates her fans, not only because she made sure to tell everyone in the venue, but because it saturates her stage presence.
At one point during the show, Miko looked out to the crowd and began reading some of the signs that fans were holding up. There were a few birthday signs and a few simple ‘Te Amo’ signs, however majority of the signs were hilarious, including one which Miko read out to the crowd while laughing: “Gracias a dios soy Miko-sexual (Thank God I’m Miko-sexual).” One sign asked Miko to “Sign {their} Double-D’s”, to which Miko response was drowned out by screaming and laughing fans, though she did manage to get out a polite “Pero no (but no).”
The final sign she read wasn’t technically a sign, but a couple of fans holding up cut out letters spelling “P★ssy Power”, which Miko read, saying “¿Y sabes que, mi amor? Llamo a eso ser una madre (You know what, my love? I call that being a mother).” She then transitioned into ‘Madre’, turning Arizona Financial Theatre into Phoenix’s hottest LGBTQIA+ nightclub.
Many of the songs on the setlist were off her new album Att., which the tour is promoting. However, with a setlist spanning two hours, Miko made sure to thrown in some songs for all her fans, new and old. A few songs were off her 2022 EP Trap Kitty, as well as many of her singles – including her latest single ‘sorry es que soy bipolarrr’, which she made with fellow Puerto Rican singer ROBI – and songs she was featured in, such as crowd pleasing 2023 track ‘Fina‘ which she has with another fellow Puerto Rican Bad Bunny.
Set design played a big role in the show, following a similar aesthetic to Miko’s latest video-game-esque branding.
Her initial set included a bedroom, similar to the style from the cover art of Att. A tamagatchi-like sculpture sat next to the bed (a nod to track 3 off the album ‘tamagotchi’), and a boombox laid directly in front of the bed. A medium-sized purple Kuromi was also tucked in the corner of the stage.
This set lasted for a few songs before the curtain came down, and Miko began talking to the crowd on a simple tree stump with a projected pixelated background behind her. She performed a softer, slower version of ‘en la pinchi interlude’, and spoke to the crowd for a while. It was personal and intimate and a really beautiful moment, which gave her and the crowd a minute to slow down and be a little more present.
However, Miko quickly brought the energy back. For practically the rest of the show, the set became a giant boombox and projected backdrops played behind it, corresponding in some way to whatever song she was performing. For ‘princess peach’ the backdrop was Princess Peach’s castle from Super Mario Brothers. While she performed ‘tamagotchi’, the backdrop showcased a little Tamagotchi creature dancing around.
The set design transformed the show, giving a sort of life to the songs and creating a visual experience that elevated Miko’s performance. Combined with her interactive and energetic stage presence, the show had such an upbeat and vibrant energy. There was never a boring moment and the entire venue felt like a party.
Young Miko is incredible performer, simple as that. She is engaging and interactive with her fans, she is energetic and fun in her stage presence, the setlist touches different genres and spans years, giving something to all of her listeners no matter how long they have been a fan. While she is on stage, she is mesmerizing and has a personality that flashes from sexy to adorable within seconds. Within her set design, it is obvious that there is so much though and time dedicated to curating the production, and it was fun to see how the set design played into the setlist.
She’s worked insanely hard to be where she is today and she continues to grow. It’s an honor to see her live and know that she’s going to continue getting bigger and better.
