(Alex & Sierra; Jenny Kim/Neon Tommy)

On Friday night, Season three X Factor winners Alex & Sierra shared the stage with pop-musician Andy Grammer at the Anaheim House of Blues in Downtown Disney. The venue was intimate, the crowd was tame — but that didn’t stop people from having a great time. Opening acts Rachel Platten and Paradise Fears opened for the crowd, and though the schedule was running far behind, the crowd seemed to enjoy every bit of their acts. With Rachel Platten recently signed to Columbia Records and Paradise Fears amassing a fan club of teenage girls, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them performing on far bigger stages sometime in the future. 

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As soon as Alex & Sierra took the stage, it was undeniable that the two shared a chemistry not often found in other pop-duos and groups these days. Of course, it helps that the two are dating, and have been dating even before debuting on X Factor. But it’s no easy task that their synchronization in every aspect — rhythm, harmony, and body movement — was impeccable, even to the point that their breathing matched. With Alex on the acoustic guitar and Sierra and her tambourine, they sang an impressive set list of original songs written by them with a brief glimpse of a cover of Gloria Gaynor’s iconic song, “I Will Survive.” And in credit to one of their covers that skyrocketed them to fame, they also performed Britney Spears’s “Toxic,” — a flashback to three years ago when they were performing for the judges and the rest of America. Though they were only on the fourth leg of their tour, they still expressed great professionalism in both performance and etiquette. It’s not often you find amateurs that exude the talent, enjoyment, and passion that these two do. 

(Andy Grammer; Jenny Kim/Neon Tommy)

Next up was the main show of the night. It took too long for him to get on stage, but the wait was well worth it. Unbeknownst to me, someone that knows only a handful of songs by him, he had a lot of swagger. He can dance, charm, and sing (and do all three at the same time). As a trained musician, Grammer was extremely skilled on the piano as he sang his hit, “Keep Your Head Up” and the audience joined along. But what sold me on his talent was his ability to interact with his band on stage (something you don’t see often with successful artists these days) and entertain his fans in the audience, all while creating music. He had his band join him as he and the others recorded fun tidbits of various samples which then looped into the song he was singing to create an unique sound. His trumpet performance made an appearance, as did some beatboxing, riffing, and cymbal playing by his band members. It was great to see the crowd positively react to what seemed like a bunch of boys truly having a great time on stage with friends. 

I haven’t seen a happier crowd before — so thank you Alex & Sierra and Andy Grammer for being so positively great and talented! 

Reach Staff Reporter Jenny Kim here.