After Half A Lifetime, Seeing Marina Live Confirmed My Undying Loyalty

When news of Marina’s return to Australia broke in December, I dissolved into a puddle of tears during a morning editorial meeting. Having been a fan since 2013 as tenderhearted 14 year old, I had given up hope of the Welsh artist ever returning to Australia, her last appearances being a handful of shows 15 years ago in support of her 2010 album The Family Jewels. Then performing under the moniker of Marina and the Diamonds, her next album, Electra Heart, would skyrocket her into the annals of millennial queer culture, the washed out, vintage high camp imagery present in internet aesthetics still to this day.

The crowd at the Tuesday Horden Pavilion show looked exactly the way I expected: mid-twenties women in glittery makeup and chunky boots, tank-topped twinks, and plenty of trademark black hearts on cheeks, a nod to her Electra Heart era. I was attending the show by myself, but felt far from awkward or alone, everyone around me buzzing with the same anticipation at seeing a concert we’d been waiting years for.

When the 40-year-old graced the stage in a sparkling pink, full length bodycon dress and hood, she was every bit the icon I’d thought she would be. Opening with the titular track of her 2025 album, Princess of Power, the show was built around the premise of an intergalactic arcade game, the campy retro, 80’s motifs nicely accompanying her songs as Marina took us through nearly 20 years of discography.

Marina masterfully balanced nostalgia while showcasing her latest work, front-loading the concert with some fan favourites like Are You Satisfied, Hermit The Frog and Bubblegum Bitch, tracks that have picked up a new generation of listeners after finding popularity on TikTok.

Her vocals have always been impressive, but watching her perform only meters in front of me truly quashed any concerns that Marina’s talent wouldn’t translate in person. That microphone was on, and she was effortlessly hitting the ethereal top notes that feature in so much of her music.

Marina had high charisma to match, and it seemed like her first Australian show in a decade and a half was just as meaningful to her as it was to her fans, thanking us for coming back to see her after all this time. The air in the room was electric. We were ready to take anything she was willing to give us.

Creative independence has always been a priority for the singer-songwriter, and she’s eschewed opportunities of mainstream success to maintain her artistic vision. It’s different, but undoubtedly still Marina. With the same glam-pop heart, her new music still captures her hope for a better future, constantly striving towards a more confident and enlightened way of being, while mourning the parts of her she’s had to sacrifice to get there.

We journey through her more high-energy, self-assured songs like Primadonna and Cuntissimo, the crowd screaming every word, before the show rounds out with Key To The Castle and I <3 U, alongside the niche hit I’m Not Hungry Anymore, which just missed out on being included on 2015’s Froot.

It was my 27-year-old self that finally got to see Marina in person, but there was certainly space in the room for all the people I had been since discovering her half a lifetime ago. It’s incredibly special to grow up alongside an artist, and although I haven’t listened to every one of her albums with the obsessive enthusiasm I had as a teenager, my undying loyalty to her has been solidified in seeing her live, and confirming she’s just as much of an icon as I always thought she would be.