Is Robyn an electro-pop tour-de-force?

If you asked anyone at New York City’s Terminal 5 last night while Maluca or Natalia Kills were on stage, warming up the crowd with their own blend of tropical punk and synthpop, the answer was already ‘yes’.  If you asked me, as an enormous Robyn fan, I knew the answer was yes.  I can understand, however, after the success of Body Talk Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, that everyone else finally got the memo.  If last night was any indication, Robyn has found her niche in the annals of dance mayhem.

The Body Talk series is a healthy combination of dancehall, dub-step and even, hip-hop, but Robyn fused all seamlessly.  Robyn is the perennial solo act, as two synth players and two drummers created a live party atmosphere behind her hits.  She announced her presence with the Body Talk Pt. 1 “Intro” and robotic jam “Fembot,” and she never slowed down.  The Swedish pop star got on stage dancing and singing like her musical career depended on it.  Later this month, Robyn will complete the trilogy, as Body Talk Pt. 3 hits shelves.

Watching this performance, it is clear that there is no exact science to success in the music industry.  After hitting it big in the 90s with “Show Me Love,” and a bevy of other ear-friendly, singalong pop, she left Jive Records and seemingly, the industry, for good. Invigorated by artists reinventing themselves and creating their own imprints, she started Konichiwa Records, and began creating the music she wanted.  Now, Robyn is an electronic and dance music juggernaut, and several sold-out performances all over the world on the Body Talk Tour only solidifies that fact.  Mix in last night’s performance, and she’s now sledgehammered it into musical history.  So why is she selling out Madison Square Garden?

Creating live remixes and feeding off the crowd, she performed at Terminal 5 as if it was a stadium.  Robyn performs without the add of any sonic trickery or backup singers, and the exchange is authentic: We dance, she sings.  That’s why we showed up, to dance and watch in awe as she tore through “Love Kills, “Indestructible,” a cover of “Cobrastyle” by the Teddybears, and performed two encores, closing with a cover of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.”

Truly, that is what she is.  And what she made us last night.