Mimi Webb is living the pop dream at the moment. The 21-year-old singer from Kent arrived in Bristol for a gig at Trinity with her new single, House on Fire, at number one in the official trending chart.
The track has also just entered the official UK singles chart at number six and after these UK dates, she’s off to tour America. With 1.2m followers on TikTok, it’s no surprise that Mimi’s debut Bristol gig was a sell-out. It might have been a school night but that didn’t stop around 500 fans pack into the Trinity. Apart from a few parents lurking at the back, the majority of the audience was teenage girls jostling to get a decent view for those all-important selfies with their idol in the background.
On the stroke of 9pm, her three-piece band walked on as a huge fluorescent ‘Mimi Webb’ sign was turned on at the back of the stage. The crowd went wild from the moment Mimi sprinted on stage with her microphone and threw herself into the hit 24/5 - the video for which has already notched up a jaw-dropping two million views. Within minutes, security staff at the front were handing out plastic cups of water to the overheated youngsters. ‘Don’t forget to keep drinking water guys,’ shouted Mimi, ‘I know how hot it can get when you’re down there’.
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And that’s the point. At 21, Mimi is only slightly older than her fans, many of whom must be watching her on stage and thinking ‘that could be me in a few years’. As a fan herself - she often cites Adele and Amy Winehouse as her biggest influences - Mimi clearly gets that connection. From the moment she arrived on stage, she had the audience eating out of her hand.
Little Bit Louder, I’ll Break My Heart Again, Halfway and Stay - the songs came thick and fast, each one generating mass singalongs. ‘This one’s about being dumb and in love,’ laughed the privately educated singer as she introduced Dumb Love, working the audience into a frenzy by frantically waving her arms like somebody marshalling an aircraft for an emergency landing. If the hits dry up, our Mimi would definitely get a job at Heathrow.
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But it was Before I Go, and an encore of hit singles House on Fire and Good Without, that left this starstruck young crowd shouting for more as Mimi said her goodbyes and ran off the stage as fast as she arrived. She had only been on stage 45 minutes but she had already left a lasting impression.
Being a trending TikTok sensation isn’t always a guarantee that a new singer will make the grade to sensational live act. Mimi is definitely the exception - she’s a confident and natural performer who was born to be a star and she certainly won’t be playing venues of this size on her next tour. Arenas already beckon for this rising star.
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