Review: THE NO SECRETS TOUR - JESSIE J at First Avenue

Jessie J’s show at First Avenue on Saturday night felt less like a concert and more like hanging out in a room with someone who just happens to have an incredible voice. The setup was fully acoustic, which meant no hiding behind big production — and she didn’t need it anyway.

She opened with “Big White Room,” and right away the room went quiet. Not the awkward kind — the respectful kind. Her voice filled the space so easily it almost felt unfair, and from that point on, everyone knew this was going to be a different kind of night.

Between songs, Jessie talked a lot — about the past few years, about loss, about becoming a mom, about how hard it’s been to find her way back to music at times. None of it felt scripted or overly emotional. It just felt honest. Like she was saying things as they came to her, and the crowd was right there with her.

The newer songs really stood out in this format. “No Secrets” was especially powerful, stripped down to just the essentials. You could hear how personal it was, and the room stayed completely still while she sang it. Those moments ended up hitting harder than the big sing-alongs.

That said, the hits were still very much welcome. “Price Tag” and “Do It Like a Dude” sounded fresh and fun acoustically, and Jessie clearly enjoyed playing around with them. She took a lot of requests and rolled with whatever happened — including a funny moment during “I’ll Never Know Why,” when a fan got the song title wrong and Jessie just laughed and changed the lyrics to match. Totally unplanned, totally on-brand.

There were some great covers, too. An unrehearsed “Purple Rain” felt especially right in Minneapolis, and her take on Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” was a reminder that she really can sing just about anything and make it work without trying too hard.

By the time she got to “Who You Are,” “Domino,” and “Living My Best Life,” the whole room felt locked in — not just because these are familiar songs, but because they’ve clearly taken on new meaning for her. New tracks like “California” and “The Award Goes To” hinted at what’s coming next, and even in acoustic form, they held up.

At First Avenue, Jessie J didn’t try to prove anything. She didn’t have to. She showed up, sang her heart out, and let the songs do the rest.