Norwegian musical sensation, AURORA, recently graced our Australian stages with her What Happened To The Earth? Tour, supporting her most recent album What Happened To The Heart?. AURORA started out in 2014 by uploading a handful of her songs to the internet, leading her to become very popular in Norway and eventually getting signed to Glassnote Records within the same year. In 2015, she released her debut EP with the label titled Running With The Wolves, which contained her hit single Runaway, a defining piece of work that would later skyrocket her career onto global stages after musician Billie Eilish cited the song as one of her biggest inspirations when it came to her own music. She later released her sophomore album in 2016 titled All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend which went platinum in Norway two times over. As she continued to release music, AURORA quickly cemented herself as one of the most innovative and captivating performers of our generation.
AURORA performed two sold out shows in Brisbane on February 13th & 14th of 2025. I had the incredible opportunity to capture this show on Valentines Day thanks to Scrabble PR and AURORA’s team, to which I am eternally grateful for the opportunity. Her Valentines Day show was jam packed full of excited fans as the line went around the corner from the venue and stretched almost two streets down. Attendees donned ethereal, fairy-like outfits whilst multiple others sat down within the line and crafted handmade signs with pens and craft materials they brought from home whilst waiting patiently for the doors to open. Once 7pm hit and the doors swung open, fans steadily began flooding in. Many rushed to secure a spot as close to the barricade as possible, hoping for an up-close experience, while others made their way upstairs to the mezzanine, seeking the perfect view to take in the show from above.
9pm came around quickly and the lights dimmed down, engulfing the audience in darkness. A screen behind the stage slowly lit up, showing AURORA playing with the audience in a teasing fashion, before slowly putting her fingers to her lips and whispering “Quiet… Be very quiet…”, shushing her audience into gentle whispers as a small shadowed figure gracefully walked out onto the stage whilst the backing track of Goddess of Dusk coursed through the venue, causing the audience to snap out of their whispers and cheer deafeningly as she walked towards the microphone and opened the show with her track Churchyard. Her voice echoed throughout the venue like a siren luring in their prey as the audience quietened down as if they had been put in a trance by her very presence on the stage.
She seamlessly transitioned to her second song of the night Soulless Creatures, an energetic track where she moved her body ever so fast yet gracefully to the feel of the song, which felt like you were watching a spiritual awakening in the making as she swayed from side to side and moved her arms like puppet that broke free from the strings of its creator. She took a break in between the second and third song to talk to her audience, showcasing her down to earth and humble attitude towards her performance. She spoke to the crowd, retelling the story of how she hates wearing shoes and socks as they prevent her from staying grounded with the Earth and feeling connected to the stage. She continued to say how she went to a tennis court where no one told her that you can’t play barefoot, leaving her with severe and painful burns on her feet causing her to wear socks on stage to prevent hurting herself further. She said she hated wearing socks, but that she would learn to adapt for the night and not let it ruin her connection to her music.
AURORA continued with the show as she performed Dreams as the third song of the night, stating that a fan from the night before had requested she play it for Valentines Day. Her voice truly shone in this song as it echoed through the venue and captivated the audience who all looked at her with doe-eyed expressions as she graced everyone with her signature eclectic yet graceful performance style. The show continued without a hitch as AURORA moved around and hit all of her notes effortlessly and with perfect precision, all the while the graphics playing in the background were only adding to the hypnotic atmosphere and uniqueness of her live performance. Two attendee’s even got engaged during the eighth song of the night A Potion for Love, to which she put a spotlight onto them and started jumping for joy, wishing the happy couple a prosperous marriage, she told them “Remember, its you and your partner against the problem, not you and your partner against each other,” which is a beautiful piece of advice more people should follow.
AURORA’s performance was nothing short of ethereal, an experience I feel truly blessed to have witnessed. Her show was far more than just music or a setlist of her biggest hits—it was a full-bodied performance, a deeply immersive spectacle that transcended the boundaries of a traditional concert.
The entire evening felt like watching an ancient play whose script had been lost to time and rewritten by AURORA herself as a homage to something sacred. It was as if the audience members were part of a ritual, an otherworldly experience destined to leave a profound and lasting impact and change the course of your life forever. From the moment she stepped on stage, it felt like the course of our lives had been subtly, yet permanently, altered by the magic she conjured. I cannot wait for AURORA to come back and bless our souls once again with a bigger and even better performance.
GALLERY
All photos: © Jaz Wilkins