Emotional Oranges at the Royale
Words and Images by Annalisa Hagg ‘26
On March 11th, Emotional Oranges performed at the Royale Boston as part of their Pulp Fiction Tour. I was super excited to see the band, whose song “West Coast Love” had defined so many good windows-down car rides.
Besides “West Coast Love”, the band's discography was largely a mystery to me. As I discovered while researching the duo, so too is their identity. The band consists of singers “V” and “A,” who choose to conceal their identities in order to lead regular lives. On stage, they are known for wearing their signature glasses to maintain anonymity. Working for musicians like Drake and Adele likely inspired their desire to remain unknown. The R&B group formed in 2017 in Los Angeles and began releasing music in 2018. Today, Emotional Oranges has four full albums. The Pulp Fiction Tour follows the release of their latest album, The Juice: Vol. III.
The duo nods to their influences in their music, such as The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, The XX, The 1975, Anderson Paak., and Ms. Lauryn Hill. Despite these varied influences, the duo crafts a sound completely distinct and unique, with pulsing bass emulating through each track, sweeping synths, and dual vocals that play off each other beautifully. Like their name promises, emotion ripples out from their music and performance. The Juice: Vol. III builds on their signature sound, while continuing to show what this group has to offer.
The concert featured an opening performance from R&B/soul singer Aayanna. Her vocals were absolutely stunning. Halfway through her set, she performed a cover of a song by The Internet a capella. Neo-soul influences such as Jill Scott ring through in her songs, and her beautiful onstage energy was perfect to start off the night.
Around 8:30, the screen showed an animated orange counting down until the start of the main act. The crowd counted down the last 10 seconds as the energy of the room surged in excitement. Emotional Oranges went right into their song “Personal.” Immediately, the tension between A and V was tangible in this dark, bass-driven love song. Many of the duo's songs contain lyrics about wanting each other as A and V go back and forth, singing the words to each other as smooth guitar solos punctuate the escalating emotion between them. Their smooth, groovy sound continued into their next song, “Built That Way,” which again contains their signature sultry sound.
The next song “She Got A Man” showcases Emotional Oranges’ ability to create a beat that you can easily move to. It was the first song they played from their newest album, and one can’t help but sing along with the catchy lyrics. Here A and V continue to examine the theme of wanting another person, with lyrics like “I want her bad and she knows what's up,” highlighting V’s silky vocals. Continuing on, the duo returned to their first released single, “Motion,” which became popular on the tenth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and shows off even more provocative lyrics and catchy grooves.
Throughout the show, the sexual tension between A and V became more and more pronounced. The performance was so captivating that a girl behind me exclaimed “too bad they are in love.” The duo is in fact not together in real life, but their on-stage presence clearly highlighted the connection of the artists and their commitment to the theme of their music. The duo worked to engage with the audience during the show, sharing personal stories and connecting with the crowd on an emotional level.
Towards the end of the night, A and V pulled out some of their most popular songs, including “Petty”, “Bounce”, and “West Coast Love.” By this point, the energy of the crowd was absolutely unreal. The on-stage performance during “Petty” perfectly matched the vibe of the song. “Petty” shows off the duos ability to play off each other. Petty is about those salty little arguments we get into with A singing “Don’t get petty with me” and V responding with “Go ahead and call me petty, I’ma burn it down baby.” The back and forth argument of the song translates into their performance with A even pulling V's hair. Their song “Bounce” had an incredibly infectious beat that every single person wanted to dance to. When it came to the chorus, the entire crowd was screaming the lyrics, “I said bounce/I need cash in large amounts.” Finally, the duo played their most popular song, “West Coast Love.” Being from the west coast, I felt a special connection to this track. A stated he wanted to bring “west coast vibes” to the east coast, and I couldn’t help but close my eyes and smile as the iconic beat pulsed through the room.
Emotional Oranges returned with an encore of “Slide All Night.” Before starting the song, the crowd learned a simple dance to do during the chorus. Dancing with the performers and the rest of the crowd was a really fun way to end the night.
Emotional Oranges have captivated the underground R&B scene for good reason. Songs that control hips and hearts seem to be their style. Their male/female dynamic allows unique creativity in exploring relationships, and of course, their smooth, sultry sound brings an incredible take on 90s pop/R&B. Emotional Oranges have allowed their music to speak for who they are and my only wish is that I could have listened to them perform longer. Make sure to check out Emotional Oranges for music everyone will enjoy!
