The Experience of a Lifetime

Jul 9

Seeing My Favorite Artist, Joji, for the first time

Smoke bellows out of the machines, fogging up the room full of thousands of people. Red and white lights begin to shine, synching up along with bass filled booms. Anticipation fills me which each sudden sound- between the roaring crowd, the slow starting music, and my heartbeat, my ears fight an ongoing battle of which noise to take in for the moment. My senses may be overwhelmed, but my heart is full.

Then all goes silent for a moment. And I see him as he walks out onto the stage.

The screams engulf the stadium. The bass vibrates my core from the ground up. Lights flicker in each direction while hues of red beam off the enormous screens. His voice starts up and my heart drops as I hear Joji open with “Pixelated Kisses.”

Instantly, I cry out, screaming and yelling my heart out. Tears stream down my face uncontrollably, to the point of wiping them away only causes a bigger mess. Nothing is comparable to this moment. Every emotion flooding in feels like I am experiencing it for the first time. Amazement that I’m in the same room as my favorite artist. Excitement for the performance to come. Fear of the show ending too soon. I must catch my breath as my bellowing cry causes my heart to race so fast, I become overwhelmed.

I take a few deep breaths, put a hand on my chest to ground me, and look around. Thousands of people cry, scream, laugh, smile, and share the plethora of emotions filling the room. I feel small and huge all in the same breath knowing that I get to experience the concert I’ve always dreamed of experiencing.

On Wednesday, I, along with my best friend, Karli, got to experience seeing my all-time favorite artist in concert- Joji. There is no number of words that could ever truly define the emotions that this show brought me, but if there was one, I could use to describe it as a whole, that would be “Euphoric” as there was not a single second, I wasn’t in awe of what I was experiencing.

Joji- as some of you may know- started his career off as a youtuber years ago, going under the name “filthy frank” or “pink guy.” He started off making ‘trolling’ videos- just so much goofy content- but as the years went by, he grew up. Making a vast change and character development, Joji started creating his own music- beautiful, soulful music at that.

I had been following Joji since his youtuber days, and in high school, I began to follow his music career heavily. “Will He” and “Demons” were the first songs I ever heard of Joji’s, and they changed my judgement on how music can sound. Hearing these songs live brought back all the emotions of discovering Joji’s music once again. The emotions of a teenage girl discovering music that will change her entire music taste. The emotions of a teenage girl who can’t wait to leave her small hometown and create a life for herself. The emotions of a heart broken girl who used music to get through every emotion- good, bad, and in between. So forth and so forth. From 8 years ago in high school to today, Joji’s music has always been a rock for me that has kept me grounded in my emotions- both good and bad.

I never thought I would get the opportunity to ever experience watching my favorite artist, and I could not be more thankful that I got to jump on this opportunity. To those out there longing to see certain artists but aren’t sure if they should spend the money- do it anyways. Money comes and goes. Experiences like these are something money can’t buy back.

We started our trip to Dallas to see Joji on Tuesday by staying in a cute area close to downtown. Our Airbnb was in an apartment, but it was so cute and felt safe which I was grateful for as I have not had the best history with Airbnb’s (specifically in the DFW area- IYKYK). Near our Airbnb, there was an adorable, walkable shopping area which had the cutest shops and cafes- like one storefront which was completely supplied by women’s crafts and works. It was honestly empowering and had some cutie items. A favorite find of mine was a chocolate shop that screamed pink and flowers in the most gorgeous maximalist way (and it had some of the best chocolate treats I’ve ever had btw).

For dinner, we decided to walk down to a Mexican restaurant that looked super yummy. However, upon our arrival and seating, my bestie and I quickly realized that this was a Mexican restaurant by day and a club by night. As our waitress showed up in little to no clothing, and I was surprised to say the least. But as two twenty-year-old girls, Karli and I laughed at the situation we wound up in, and we rode it out. Despite not understanding a lick of the music being played and being interested in the establishment we were in, we took it with grace and ended up eating some AMAZING al pastor tacos. The queso was yummy, and we had a nice lemon drop martini to wash it down.

Sometimes weird situations just end up as a fun story.

The next morning made out for yet another funny story as Karli and I found ourselves paying for overpriced coffee that tasted like…. YUCK… to put it nicely- not just once, but twice. Let’s just say we took a nice nap before the concert that night.

Getting ready for the concert, I took my time and enjoyed it so much. I rarely get dressed to the nines now, so I was thankful to have another excuse to get all dolled up. And thank the lord for L’Oreal Setting Spray because, despite the flood of tears streaming down my face at a constant race, my makeup stayed intact through the night.

For Joji’s 2026 Solaris Tour, Corbin and Nate Sib were his openers. I actually have been listening to Corbin (formally known as Spooky Black) since high school when all his music was strictly on Soundcloud. So, I was excited to see that he was touring with Joji, excited that his name could finally get out there.

To be honest though, I was not the biggest fan of either of the opening sets. Corbin played songs that I knew, and I cried simply because it sounded just as beautiful in person as it does through headphones. But the energy with Corbin was lacking. I love the emotional depth in his music, but the lack of visuals and lighting made it hard to been engulfed in the music with him. You couldn’t even see his face which was overshadowed by his hat. I could enjoy the performance simply because I like Corbin, but I could see it to be super challenging for new listeners to appreciate his music with his opening set being so tame compared to the visual king Joji. I really hated it for Corbin because I wanted this tour to be a kickoff to a bigger career, but I fear his set being so tame might lead to negative backlash instead.

I had no idea who Nate Sib was before the concert and went in with a blind eye- trying to be as open-minded as I could be. Truthfully, I was disappointed though. He had some more visuals and lighting work than Corbin, and his energy was a lot, but it seemed so out of place. He seemed to have a pop/EDM vibe (not a fan of EDM here), but all the jumping around the dark lit stage by himself seemed off-putting. Karli pointed out that Nate Sib reminded her of a lot of young Justin Beiber, and after that we couldn’t unsee or unhear it. To each their own, of course, but I longed for the openers to simply have more guidance and help there on the stage- it seemed like they just got tossed up there with no directions.

Joji, though, put on the best concert I have ever been to (yes, I may have a bias but IDC). The visuals were encapsulating, like I felt every color in my soul. The visuals matched the vibe of the song, keeping you wrapped in the emotions of the performance. Even in the lulls of him needing a break, his older songs played while visuals continued on.

One of my favorite things Joji did during his performance throughout was his inclusion of the guitar (and other instruments)- the rock influences made the songs sound so cool. “Past Won’t Leave My Bed” was one of my favorite song performances from this concert. I already have a deep emotional connection to this song, but his voice and the visuals just made it feel surreal- like I was feeling the depth of the song to the fullest for the first time. I bawled my eyes out, having to keep myself from hyperventilating almost.

There was not a bad song in the lineup, but the least memorable for me was “Horses to Water.” I love this song and have absolutely no complaints from Joji’s performance- this is simply the closest thing I could come to as a critique (again, I do have a bias). Overall, this concert- while draining on my pockets- was one of the best days of my life. I am so grateful for the experience and will hold it near and dear to my heart for years to come…..

The tears stream down my face as I wipe away what’s left of my mascara. I have memorized the setlist front to back prior to the concert, so I know that the end is near. As the colors shift from hues of reds, blues, and greens to a gride of whites and grays, I hear the intro to “Slow Dancing in the Dark” cue in. Joji’s voice comes in as soft as a whisper while simultaneously being as loud as thunder in a storm. My heart almost stops beating for a moment. I take a deep breath as I know I need to focus in and live in the moment for one last song. I feel as if I am levitating as Joji belts out the notes of the chorus, lights flashing to every beat, white confetti flying all through the air. I pull out my phone to get one last video. And as it all comes to an end, the screen goes black, the music stops, and I am left sitting in my seat with a wet face and a full heart.

Till next time friends,

Jess C

P.S. Check out my instagram and Tik Tok for more pictures and videos to come!