What to know
- TheARTI$t opened for Kehlani at Toronto’s RBC Amphitheatre.
- The artist brought a mix of R&B, hip-hop and undeniable stage presence to the opening set.
- Their confident, playful performance helped get the crowd ready for Kehlani’s headlining set.
Opening for superstar R&B artist Kehlani, TheARTI$t gave a stellar performance to an excited RBC Amphitheatre crowd on Sunday evening,
Before R&B superstar Kehlani turned Toronto’s RBC Amphitheatre into a night of Sapphic sanctuary and sweetness, TheARTI$t got the crowd moving with a set that felt equal parts polished, playful and effortlessly cool.
In a 15-minute performance, the New Jersey-born singer-songwriter performed several tracks from a discography that is equal parts smooth and exciting, perfectly preparing the crowd for the main act. The star first went viral on TikTok back in 2023 with her hit “Sober,” followed by her first album, ARTchives: The Gallery in 2024, and Who I Am in 2025. She released a whole new album, DND, on April 3 of this year.
The rising artist brought a confident, genre-bending sound to the stage, blending hip-hop and R&B with an easy charisma that made the early-evening crowd feel less like an audience waiting for the headliner and more like a party already underway.
There was plenty of swagger in the performance, with TheARTI$t commanding the stage in a way that seemed natural, despite their relatively short career. The energy in the crowd was loose and conversational, with the singer giving the crowd plenty to respond to. It was a fitting opener to a night built around sensuality, self-expression and unapologetic cool.
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As one of the supporting acts on Kehlani’s North American tour, TheARTI$t had a tall order: warm up a crowd that had come primarily for R&B’s biggest Queer icon. But by the end of the set, the Toronto audience was well on its way to being ready for the main event.
TheARTI$t did exactly what a good opener should do: Get the crowd pumped up, and wanting more time to party.
