Tinashe was a study in contrasts during her Tonight Show performance on Tuesday night (Nov. 10). The singer, who released her eighth studio album, Popstar, in September, took to the stage for a medley of songs from that LP, beginning with the title track.
The performance opened with Tinashe standing center stage in a long, furry white coat as the sight and sound of flashbulbs flickered around her while a series of bright sunbursts erupted on the screen behind.
“I’m Sunset Boulevard and Vine/ Runnin’ through the yellow lights/ I been on the way to meet you/ You always knew I’d be a star,” she crooned over subtle strings as a giant white star lit up the screen. “We all love to party all night,” she sang, her voice rising higher. Then, 90 seconds in, a trio of dancers in silhouette ran out, stripped off the coat, applied some makeup and prepped Tinashe for the second, high-energy portion of her set.
After a brief blackout, Tinashe reemerged in a studded black leather bodysuit — with a star cut-out on the stomach — and matching black hot pants for the booty-shaking, up-tempo “Melatonin.” With the stage transformed into a sweaty, late night dance club, the singer and six dancers got loose and twerked it out to the song’s insistent, glitchy techno beat while a video behind them filled out the scene with images of a packed, sweaty club.
Tinashe celebrated Popstar debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 last month, marking her highest-charting album ever on the tally and her first top 10 appearance. “I’m so unbelievably grateful, this is CRAZY! #6 BILLBOARD DEBUT,” she wrote on X at the time alongside a flurry of crying emoji before thanking fans “so soooooo much” for their love and support, adding, “I’m cryinggggg.”
Check out Tinashe on The Tonight Show below.
