I’ve followed Becky Hill’s career since she was first introduced to the world as a fresh-faced wannabe popstar on the first-ever series of ITV’s The Voice UK.
You could tell almost instantly she had something special; from unmatched live vocals, to a charming personality. Fast forward to Thursday, October 24 and the Bewdley-born singer-songwriter is playing to a sold-out, 11,200-strong crowd at Wembley.
Concluding her Believe Me Now? Tour at the OVO Arena, the 30-year-old’s dream came true as thousands danced in unison to the oldies, and the goldies. Opening with arguably her most personal tune to date, True Colours, she started in style.
Sat with Becky’s publicity team cheering her on from the sidelines, I’d already been treated to a solid warm-up by her supporting stars Charlie Boon, Catching Cairo, and Emily Makis – but nothing could have prepared me for what was to happen next.
“Hello, Wembley – I’ve always wanted to say that,” Becky told the crowd as she launched into Gecko (Overdrive). I’ll always stand by crowning Hill one of the UK’s greatest live performers, and she proved that over and over again at Wembley – and her audience were with her every step of the way through her 1-hour 45-minute set.
It was one hour in, after leaving the stage for a levitating piano in the middle of the crowd with MJ Cole, that Becky began to break down, getting emotional as she soaked up the applause. Selling out Wembley was something she never thought would come to fruition as she told us about an infamous conversation she’d had with her manager.
“I don’t even think two or three years ago I could have done [this]. When [my manager] rang me up and said, ‘Look, me and your agent have been talking, and we’re going to put on a UK arena tour’, I laughed in his f***ing face.”
She explained: “I said, ‘Alright mate, go on then, sure. I said you know what? You can put it on but you won’t sell any tickets. And I actually think I put a 50 quid bet on it with him, that he wouldn’t sell any of them. And I think I owe him 50 quid.” Laughing, she added: “I think I think you might have put interest on that by now.”
After her told-you-so confession, Becky continued to keep the audience on their feet, myself included as she belted Right Here before Lose Control. My Heart Goes (La di da) was an apt next step before breaking down in a truly raw and emotional moment.
“I’ve got, like 45 employees making this s*** work. I wanna thank the front of the house. I wanna thank video and sound and lights. I wanna thank side of stage. I wanna thank the riggers that put all of this together. I wanna thank the truck drivers that get all of this stuff from place to place. I wanna thank the security in this venue for keeping everybody safe. I wanna thank the bar staff for keeping everybody drunk.
“I wanna thank the people that are gonna come into this room and dismantle this whole set and put it back into boxes and put it away after you’re all gone. I am a very, very tiny, tiny part of this show,” she admitted. “And I just wanna make a massive noise for these people that have made this show completely possible, thank you so so much.”
Fighting back the tears before she couldn’t anymore, Becky revealed: “Over the last two weeks, 10 days I have had all of my dreams come true.” Sobbing on stage, Becky added: “All of my dreams have come true, thank you so much.”
“Thank you for making the little inner child in me very happy, a very happy, valid, seen human being. Thank you so much Wembley, I have had the time of my f***ing life on this stage,” she concluded before her final shows of the night.
It wasn’t Hill’s only standout moment of the night, before her emotional 1-1 with the audience, Becky got on a level – and a brutally honest one at that. “This year has been f***ed, Like financially. Like bills like energy bills are tripled.
“I don’t know how people are living. People are using food banks for the first, like more than ever. For the first time in a very in my generation, you know, people can’t afford to clothe their kids, put their heating on. And… we’re living through a f***ing war.”
“We’re still not taxing billionaires, like the whole country is f***ed. The cost of living crisis. Money is harder to come by now than ever before in my lifetime. And do you know what? The beautiful thing is that you guys have chosen to spend your hard earned cash on buying all of these tickets. Thank you so f****ing much.”
Her sold-out OVO performance wasn’t just another Becky Hill show, it was a moment for the history books. The teenage TV contestant from the Midlands has made it, show after show – thousands screaming her lyrics on every track. 10 arena performances done before jetting stateside to takeover America. She’s not just another featured artist, her name is Becky Hill, and she’s an absolute global superstar.