Check One, Check Two: Claire Rosinkranz Takes The Stage at Webster Hall.
Two weeks ago, 19-year-old singer-songwriter Claire Rosinkranz performed at Webster Hall to a packed crowd in the heart of New York City’s East Village. As a result of her EP, "BeVerly Hills BoYfRiEnd", which gained viral attention on social media and has over 230 million Spotify streams, it is not surprising that there was a long line out the door hours before the show on 11th street and Third avenue, and Claire's fans did not disappoint when it came to singing her setlist.
Fans quickly whipped out their phones to capture Claire’s entrance to the stage and instead were immediately greeted by her band entourage, fighting over a radio prop on stage. The band members switched between the radio stations disagreeing with what song was being played– but the audience screamed the loudest when snippets of Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” appeared on the radio.
With the crowd hyped over Claire’s openers and unique build-up, Claire finally graced the stage, parading around and began singing one of her most iconic songs, “Backyard Boy” the song that put Claire on the music map. “Backyard Boy” became a breakout hit for her with over 1.7 million TikTok posts as of today and over 219 million streams on Spotify. Starting her show with “Backyard Boy,” she had everyone dancing and jumping up and down, a great introduction to what's to come with her performance.
Next in the setlist came “i h8 that i still feel bad for u,” a song that is all about strained relationships and the guilt that comes with those, and oh boy did that song have everyone screaming at the top of their lungs. There’s nothing more powerful than a song that gets the audience riled up with their middle fingers up in the air and shouting the song lyrics as if they were yelling at their exes.
And coming fresh off a new single release, Claire performed her latest song “Sad in Hawaii.” Even with the song being brand new, the audience delivered and sang the lyrics right back to her, going to show that the relationship between Claire and her fans is most certainly a strong one. “Sad in Hawaii” features old-school surfer rock and summertime pop sounds, a perfect track to transport all of us in a summer state of mind amidst the freezing colds of February.
Throughout the show, Claire sang hits like “123,” “im too pretty for this,” “Boy in a Billion,” and my all-time favorite song of hers “Frankenstein.” “Frankenstein,” a song all about building the perfect boyfriend, became a performance that truly resonated with who Claire is as an artist and a performer.
Her vibrant energy mixed with vocals that sound just as good live as they do in the studio, and her overall enthusiasm to dance around the stage with a Frankenstein mask across her face was incredibly youthful, entertaining, and most importantly, she showed the audience a very authentic version of who she is– something a lot of artists are unable to do.
But another interesting thing about the show was Claire's decision to have most of her setlist be full of unreleased songs that are on her upcoming album. Songs like "dreamer," "never goes away" and "swinging at the stars" were just some of the many teasers of Claire's upcoming album and introduced brand new sounds that listeners of Rosinkranz haven't had the chance to hear before from her. Claire's decision to sing songs that hardly anyone in the audience knew made the music more impactful, and allowed the audience to really absorb what she was singing and the overall production.
Ending the show with an encore of "Pretty Little Things" was truly the perfect way to conclude. When the lights of Webster Hall went black, the massive disco ball spun around and members of the audience held up their phone flashlights to sing acoustically along with Claire, it felt so intimate and it made you truly realize why music is so special. It's more than apparent that Claire is becoming a star in the music industry, and with her talent and stage presence, she'll be topping the charts in no time.
You Gotta Listen: Frankenstein, don't miss me, Sad in Hawaii, 123
Catch Claire on tour this February and March. For more information, check out her official website.
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