Robyn Strips Down 30 Years Of Music For ‘Tiny Desk Concert’ Debut

Robyn revisited her teenage breakthrough and reworked recent material for an intimate introduction to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. The Swedish singer’s debut installment premiered today, featuring stripped-down renditions of four songs reaching from “Show Me Love” to this year’s Sexistential.

Backed by a six-piece ensemble featuring piano, keyboards, electronics, bass, drums and two backing vocalists, Robyn opened with “Ever Again” from her 2018 album, Honey. After the first song, the veteran performer admitted she was nervous.

Robyn followed with “Light Up,” one of two selections from Sexistential, her first full-length release since Honey. The song’s transformation into a piano ballad put her voice at the center of the arrangement, highlighting the longing beneath its electronic studio production.

The set’s biggest leap backward came with “Show Me Love,” which appeared on her 1995 debut album, Robyn Is Here, when she was just 16. “For me, this is where it all started, in a way,” Robyn told the audience. The familiar hit received a slower, more spacious treatment that fit the session’s intimate setting.

Before the finale, Robyn explained an unusual detail of her outfit: one leg had been cut off her jeans. Her son had thrown up on her during the drive, prompting the impromptu alteration.

Robyn then closed with “Sucker For Love,” returning to Sexistential for the most high-energy performance of the four-song set.

Watch Robyn’s Tiny Desk Concert debut below: