LOS ANGELES, Feb. 14 (UPI) — As a new cast member in Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, Freya Skye joined Disney’s Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide tour last year. On her Stars Align tour through March 8, Freya carries the same joyous energy with her solo music.
At her Los Angeles show on Tuesday, there were no Disney backdrops or props, so Freya commanded the stage herself. With room for her drummer David Cola, keyboardist Anna Bettendorf and guitarist Donnie Laudicina, streams of lightbulbs created colorful stage lighting for each song.
Like the Descendants/Zombies tour, Freya’s fans scream loud enough to potentially drown out her actual songs. They also knew the words to songs that were only released Feb. 4, and Freya thanked fans for already making costumes and videos inspired by them.
One of those newly released songs from the stardust EP was “petty.” Freya punches the chorus “petty etty petty etty” with an open palm.
Her poses harken back to Madonna’s “Vogue.” She points to the sky and waves her arms in a welcoming embrace. However, it’s when Freya pauses to belt a high note directly into the microphone that she’s at her most powerful.
Wind machines keep her hair blowing on the indoor stage. Her joy is strong enough to reach the cheapest seats.
She paces the show well, bounding back and forth across the stage for “Can’t Fake It” and “petty” before slowing it down and playing guitar herself for “Walk Over.” At one point the band gathered around her in a mock campfire for some diddies and band introductions.
That campfire section, which begins with “Who I Thought I Knew,” also brings Freya’s first costume change of the night. She puts a sparkly denim colored jacket/poncho over her sparkly purple dress.
At the end of the show, she does a full costume change into a white dress with a translucent cape.
Freya shares the background about some of the songs, such as the unreleased “London” about missing home and her dark barking at 4 a.m. She also performed the unreleased “Bad Taste.”
While these songs do not advance the plot of vampire romances and feuds with zombies called in to referee, the pop music sensibilities are a melodic fit. While Freya clearly has fans independent of the Disney franchise, her own sound is just as upbeat and danceable.
Zombies co-stars Milo Manheim and Chandler Kinney were spotted by fans in the L.A. audience long before Freya said hi to them on stage. Even if they don’t follow her to other cities, Freya’s hour-long set of music is the main attraction.
Opening act Adrian Lyles warmed up the crowd well, getting the crowd waving their hands and jumping to a singalong he taught them. His originals and a cover of Djo’s “End of Beginning” are an energetic welcome to the show.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
