Chloe Qisha brought her debut mixtape Fantasize to the stage with an evening of cheeky fun at London’s Heaven Nightclub.
Chloe Qisha has had quite the year as a rising pop princess: since she released her second EP Modern Romance in May 2025, the London-based singer, who has described her style as ‘nostalgic alternative pop’, has opened for Coldplay, Sabrina Carpenter, and Raye; made the BBC's Sound of 2026 shortlist and embarked on her first European and North American headline tour. This Friday, she returned to her hometown to bring her first mixtape Fantasize to the stage at Heaven nightclub on the day of its release.
Heaven as a venue hardly needs an introduction: tucked between the arches underneath Charing Cross, it has been a staple of London’s LGBTQ+ nightlife for decades. Its pop-loving, vivacious crowd has previously welcomed artists such as Cher, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Chappell Roan. When I arrive at 7:30, Heaven’s main floor is filling up quickly with a couple hundred people. Fierce outfits with leather, sequins and mesh are mixed with Halloween makeup and hand-held fans scattered throughout the crowd. By the time Chloe comes on at 8:20, the room is packed.
Heaven turns out to be a great venue pick for Chloe’s first mixtape release, as her audience lives up to its high-energy reputation right from the start: enthusiastic cheers erupt as her guitarist strikes the first funky chord and she takes the stage with a confident strut, donning a Western-inspired bright red corset bodysuit with matching chaps and a cowboy hat on her signature bob. Her look very much sets the tone for the rest of the gig: bold, upbeat, and with a penchant for cheeky innuendoes.
Chloe opens the first half of the gig mostly with new songs from her mixtape: she leads with a sultry wink in ‘Question of the Day’, followed by the titular ‘Fantasize’ and playful, theatrical moments in ‘Cry About It’. She keeps us engaged with witty banter throughout as we dance along to her synth-infused disco beats: ‘I have the best audience,’ she asserts with a smile between her first songs, ‘the girls, the gays, and the theys. […] You guys are gorgeous. Wear what makes you feel beautiful, powerful, and the haters can fuck off and cry about it.’ Her remarks are met with roaring agreement from the crowd.
But the energy really picks up when Chloe brings out her two back-up dancers in matching cowboy outfits for ‘YDH’ (‘Young, Dumb Horny’): we’re now building up the heat together, singing ‘pass me a knife for the tension between us, clutching my pearls at the thought of his…’, before culminating in a collective resounding ‘personality!’.
Chloe guides the momentum right over to the second half of her set with a cover of ABBA’s ‘Does Your Mother Know’, a nod to one of her main musical influences. If we were already jamming beforehand, she now has the room in the palm of her hand, turning the rest of the show essentially into a sing-and-dance-along to her established fan favourites, ‘21st Century Cool Girl’ and ‘Sexy Goodbye’. Next, she picks two fans from the audience to dance with her on stage for ‘Babygirl’, and one of them is me! Adorned with a crown and a rainbow sash that reads ‘Babygirl’, we shake our hips with her dance crew under the red-tinted strobe lights as the crowd cheers us on. Safe to say, this was my personal highlight.
Finally, she closes the set with her classic ‘I Lied, I’m Sorry’. She leaves the stage accompanied by repeated calls for an encore and a minute of thunderous applause. If the audience's reaction to Chloe’s established pieces is anything to go by, the mixtape will soon add new fan favourites to her song roster. Overall, though, the Fantasize release party has made it clear that her gigs are not just a hoot for people who know her already. If you're not part of the Chloe Qisha fandom yet, now is the time to join. You'll be greeted with bold positivity, a cheeky wink, and a whole lot of groove.