Lizzo dazzles FOMO 2020: 'Don't act like you've never seen a** before, Auckland!'

Lizzo performs at the FOMO Festival at the Trusts Stadium Henderson. Photo / Dean Purcell

The feel-good track of a new generation drops, and everyone sprints to the stage.

"I do my hair toss."

Screams cry out.

"Check my nails."

She's started!

"Baby how you feelin'?"

"Feeling good as hell!" Lizzo roars, along with thousands of the global superstar's diehard fans as the FOMO 2020 festival in West Auckland kicks into another gear.

The devoted crowd knew Lizzo's every single word and move. Photo / Dean Purcell

This is who they have been waiting for.

It's all smoke, glitter and bright lights for the next 45 minutes as Lizzo – styled in a zebra leotard – her four dancers and DJ dazzle from one hit track to the next.

The music is on point, and the devoted crowd knows every single word and move. The powerhouse vocalist and rapper even busts out the flute for a little signature solo.

But it is the "sass" she brings that adds another dimension to her show.

"Don't act like you've never seen ass before, Auckland!" she jokingly taunts the audience, as she and her dancers twerk around stage.

The 31-year-old has dominated the music scene since releasing her third album Cuz I Love You in April, shooting to fame on the back of Truth Hurts, which topped the Billboard charts in September, her rapid rise culminating in eight Grammy nominations.

Her high energy performances are world-renowned, slaying the stage at the MTV and BET awards, and playing a massive set at Glastonbury.

Fans at the FOMO Festival at the Trusts Stadium Henderson last night. Photo / Dean Purcell

But it is her stereotype-smashing style and body positive messages that have seen her enrapture the world even more, part of her being named Time magazine's Entertainer of The Year for 2019.

There are shout-outs during her Wednesday night show to the LGBTQI community, to empowering women, to self-love, to peace, and to smashing the patriarchy - "We are not bringing f*** boys into 2020!"

Her societal impact was evident, each and everyone in the audience clearly feeling more than comfortable to be who they wanted to be, in their own skin.

"It was a whole crowd of people loving themselves" a fan described it to me afterwards.

There were questions ahead of her performance about if she should have been given the headline slot at the end of the night.

But no matter what, she owned this piece of West Auckland, keeping the high energy flowing on from previous act rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie right up until closing on banger Truth Hurts, sprinting off stage before the inevitable encore chants cried out.

Straight after her performance I met a young woman, with tears running down her face, which I presumed to be of joy.

Rico Nasty performs at the FOMO Festival. Photo / Dean Purcell

"How amazing was Lizzo?" I asked. I was wrong.

"I missed her!" she cried back. Turns out she'd driven up from Hamilton for the show but had got stuck in traffic.

"She wasn't that good," I lied, giving her a brief smile.

"Nah! She was incredible!" her friend, who was there, chimed back, and the tears flowed once more.

"We can't lie to her, she'll see it all on Instagram." Truth hurts, I guess.

Continuing the 2020 theme of inclusivity self-described hip hop "boyband" Brockhampton followed, keeping up the high energy but this time with a sizzling bass line.

Many were expecting the crowd to thin after Lizzo, but by the time the actual headline act Canadian DJ and producer Kaytranada turned out the crowd was as pumped as ever, with perhaps only a few people having called an early night.

The VIP section at the front had been opened up, allowing the massive energy to flow through as dance circles broke out left, right and centre, the young crowd partying like there was no work tomorrow (there probably wasn't).

A Boogie Wit Da Hodie performs at the FOMO Festival. Photo / Dean Purcell

As Kaytranada finished his set with chill anthem Glowed Up, devotees busting some deep moves, most in the crowd didn't want the night to end.

Maybe it was that it was a Wednesday evening, maybe it was that it came just after several massive festivals over New Year's, but the crowd was visibly smaller than one would expect, given the acts on display.

That said given the start to the year the world has had, with devastating bush fires and ongoing turmoil in the Middle East amid a trigger happy old boys club, if anybody needed a feel good respite this was it in buckets.

Was the FOMO (fear of missing out) real? Two words: truth hurts.