Boy bands are always really fun to listen to, and each one has something unique to bring to the table. Some of the reasons why PRETTYMUCH stand out to me are their sense of style, their ability to be their true selves, and a lot of their music feels like it was inspired by the 90’s!
“Chels, really? I can’t keep up with all these boy bands lol. I’ve never heard of these guys.” Oh really?
PRETTYMUCH are a band consisting of members Austin Porter, Brandon Arreaga, Edwin Honoret, Nick Mara, and Zion Kuwonu. The group was put together by Simon Cowell in 2016. In 2017, PRETTYMUCH released their debut single “Would You Mind”.
Their music truly does go hard, and they’re easily my favorite boy band from this current wave of groups.
The FOMO Tour was PRETTYMUCH’s second nationwide headlining tour, and their first time performing a full-length show in San Diego. The last time the guys were in San Diego was in 2017 to visit radio stations and promote “Would You Mind”, and my big fangirl self followed the guys around town that afternoon. I also saw and met the guys in New York last year at the Z100 Jingle Ball, but it was time for a reunion on my home turf!
On August 8, PRETTYMUCH brought their FOMO Tour to the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre. I had the S-S-Sweet M&G Package, which allowed me to enter the venue early, meet the boys, get a signed poster, and a seat in the second row!
The check-in deadline for the meet and greet was 3:30PM, which felt so early for me since I like to take my time arriving to most stuff I go to now. I jumped in the back of the line, and walked into the venue.
Everyone was given a cloth wristband with a QR code attached to it, similar to some of my festival wristbands. We were walked down the stairs and the line flowed in and out of the meet and greet area pretty quickly.
THE TEA
I’m used to meet and greets being a quick hi, a possible hug, pose for the pic, and say my goodbyes. I rarely ever have anything to say to the artists, because I respect the time crunch if there is one. When it was my turn, I reached in for a group hug. I can honestly say that this was the fastest meet and greet I had ever been to. I only really had time to get a good glimpse of Zion… and I loved his Billie Eilish shirt!
When the meet and greet ended, everyone was directed back to the top of the venue to hang out and get merch.
SHOWTIME, BABY!
The show kicked off around 7PM, and a band named WJM opened up the show. WJM are a band based out of the Bay Area, and they are big on social activism. Their set was fantastic – I especially enjoyed their cover of “I Don’t Care” by Ed Sheeran.
Kenzie was up next, and she was also very entertaining! She sang a large array of her original music. It was crazy to see how far she has come since she first started releasing music… and even from her days on Dance Moms!
Once PRETTYMUCH hit the stage, the energy was taken to a completely new level. The guys opened up with “Lying”, and performed plenty of tracks from their recent “Phases” EP. There really wasn’t a dull moment throughout the show. Even when the guys decided to sing stripped-down versions of their songs, the R&B vibes were extremely powerful and everything was very cohesive.
