Review: Joshua Bassett’s ‘The Complicated Tour’ at the O2 Forum Kentish Town

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In the penultimate show of his 34-date tour, which has seen him perform across the US and Europe, Joshua Bassett brings to London a performance that is full of energy, but also contains moments of reflection. 

Bassett has had a rough couple of years. From intense media scrutiny verging on the impossible (I came across his music because of the Internet storm surrounding him), to heart failure and septic shock which almost took his life, at the age of 22 he has been through a lot. His music reflects this, and it is really good music. 

In the four years since emerging into the public eye, which began with a starring role in the Disney show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Bassett has released a steady stream of singles and EPs which encapsulate young heartbreak, growing up, and overcoming trauma.

When Bassett leaps onto the stage, the room lights up with his energy. He jumps across the stage, launching straight into the anthem ‘Feel Something’, centred on the experiences of Gen-Z. It’s a dance track, and gets the crowd moving. The main chorus’ catchy hook overflows with energy: ‘We’re stupid, we’re doin’ anything we can just to feel somethin’’, and his fans can evidently relate, as they scream the song back at him. 

He moves onto the piano ballad ‘LA’, which criticises the industry in which his career has flourished. As he notes in the transition, ‘If everything in your life goes to you-know-what, and your friends leave, they were never really your friends in the first place’. It’s a nod to the dark side of celebrity culture and the entertainment industry, and at multiple points in the evening, he introduces songs by saying that his previous management had not wanted him to release them. He did so anyway, and the songs were well received by his fanbase.

‘Finally Free’, a song he penned for the third season of HSMT:TM:TS., is a beautiful song that stands out from the rest of his catalogue due toits certain ‘Disney’ feel, but nevertheless, the crowd sings along to the soaring chorus. The lyric in the chorus ‘Breaking away from a broken heart’ points to the journey of healing and self-love that Bassett emphasises, both in his songs and transitions throughout the rest of his setlist. 

He moves on to share how he credits his survival and inner peace today to his recent reconnection to Christianity, and acknowledges the discourse around this: “I’ve been searching for peace for a long time and finally found it … I know people get scared when I say the name Jesus”. The crowd cheers him on in support, but he has a point. 

In February, Bassett was baptised by Bethel Church in California, which holds an anti-gay rights stance, and cites on its website that there are only two genders. In the past it has also advocated for conversion therapy and expressed support for Donald Trump. Bassett came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in 2021, leading to fans expressing concern over this. In response he tweeted he was “unaware of some of their policies and beliefs, and [does] not endorse all of them. My heart is for Christ and Christ alone!”.

The penultimate song ‘Set Me Free’ is a wonderful song of hope and forgiveness. The standout lyric ‘Tell my mom I’m okay, While I’m holding back tears, It’s been a fucking year’ is testament to all that he’s been through, and the crowd sings along with emotion. He tells us to leave our grudges behind tonight, as ‘life is fleeting’. The encore ‘SHE SAID HE SAID SHE SAID’ leaves the night on a happy note and gets the crowd dancing once again.

Parasocial discussions have been fuelled by social media; Olivia Rodrigo is Bassett’s rumoured ex, and her break-up album Sour is believed to be about him. Add another rumoured ex, Sabrina Carpenter, and her equally good album Emails I Can’t Send to the mix, and the speculation online goes wild. 

All three artists’ lyrics have been extensively decoded and analysed online by fans to see if there are answers to the speculation and fan theories. In one respect all of this media gossip has been successful, as all three artists’ catalogues have performed well commercially and garnered new fanbases. 

But Bassett seems to be ignoring the furor, and rightly so. He is choosing peace after all. There’s a lot more music to come from him in the future, and his fans cannot wait.