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Live review: Fridayz Live 2025 at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
25 October 2025
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Melbourne’s Docklands pulsates with nostalgia and high-octane energy as Fridayz Live returns for its final stop of the 2025 tour. With the spectacular line-up headlined by Mariah Carey and Pitbull, and supported by the likes of Wiz Khalifa, Lil Jon, Eve, Tinie Tempah and Jordin Sparks, expectation is enormous, and the spectacle lives up to it with an evening built on memories and hits.
An image montage of Jordin Sparks flashes up on the screens featuring magazine cover shots, music videos, movies and live performances from performing on American Idol to showcase the accomplished American singer/actress. She kicks off the event with the iconic hit ‘One Step At A Time,’ followed by ‘Battlefield,’ which is the perfect stadium moment for her to blow the audience away with her incredibly powerful vocals.
“I haven’t been here in 18 years – I’m sorry it took me so long to come back,” she apologies. The crowd fully embraces the nostalgia of her music for huge singalongs on smash hits like ‘Tattoo’, ‘No Air’ and a fun energetic cover of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).
DJ Yo! Mafia takes control of the changeover sets tonight to keep the party going playing a mix of high-energy songs to dance along to as we wait for the next main act to hot the stage.
Tinie Tempah gets the crowd ready to party as he brings his UK-flavoured hip-hop/pop into the mix with a high-energy set full of bangers from ‘Pass Out’ to ‘Miami 2 Ibiza’ and everything in between. The stadium quickly turns into a rave, and he keeps tabs on the audience as he does quick ratio checks on the ladies and lads to see who gives the best crowd reaction.
He shares a couple of new songs called including one track fittingly called ‘Energy’ which is special treat for fans to hear it before it releases in a few weeks. Tempah’s collaborated with everyone from Jess Glynne to Calvin Harris, Zara Larsson and Labrinth, so he drops hit after hit to keep the momentum all the way through as the crowd excitement builds.
Timeless hip hop queen Eve commands the stage with her presence and her performance brought both swagger and groove, backing dancers and moving visuals giving her set a dynamic edge. Performing her hits ‘Who’s That Girl’, ‘Tambourine’ and her popular collaborations with Gwen Stefani including ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’ and ‘Rich Girl.’
She takes a moment to pay tribute to her brothers DMX with a celebration of their music as we put our arms up in the air with an ‘X’ formation as we dance along to ‘Party Up’ with her and the crew.
Lil Jon takes the stage and shifts things into full-party mode kicking the tempo up a gear with recognisable anthems, booming beats, crowd participation and “Yeah!/Okay!” chants bouncing through the arena.
His slot is loaded with crunk moves and thunderous beats with classics like ‘Get Low,’ ‘Shots,’ and ‘Turn Down For What,’ takes us back to the ‘2000s – a time when everyone partied hard and danced all night long. He gets energy levels up so it can turn into a real wild party, and the crowd gets rowdy.
Wiz Khalifa’s set offered a tonal shift with looser, melodic, and at times poignantly reflective. He mixes in the expected club anthems ‘Black and Yellow,’ ‘Young, Wild & Free’ with the softer moments like ‘See You Again,’ giving the bill a necessary emotional counterpoint to the full-throttle party segments.
Thousands of Pitbull lookalikes with bald caps, sunglasses and black suits fill the arena, eagerly waiting for Mr Worldwide to make his grand entrance on the stage with ‘Don’t Stop The Party’. The stadium ignites as he bursts onto the stage with his repertoire of hits spanning party anthems, Latin-infused tracks and collaborations– executed with the kind of unstoppable energy his fans expect.
He riles up the crowd to join him in getting loose, wild, nasty, freaky as he rides the wave of crowd enthusiasm commandingly with his unapologetic energy – complete with dancers, confetti cannons, and that trademark motivational banter that turns audience members into instant devotees.
“Life is not a waste of time and time is not a waste of life so let’s not waste any time – get wasted tonight and have the time of our life,” he shouts, as he gives the audience some of his many life lessons to follow.
He powers through his hits as the crowd goes wild to ‘Hotel Room Service,’ International Love,’ ‘Timber,’ and a string of singalong mashups designed to keep the crowd moving at all costs. Inflatable Fireball bottles are thrown around to his hit ‘Fireball’ to further encourage punters to party and drink the night away. As a first-generation Cuban, he teaches us some Spanish and gives us a little bit of Miami vice before he leaves teaching us his motto, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but what happens in Miami never happened.”
A sea of bald caps can be seen leaving the floor area in a mass exit after Pitbull’s set before Mariah Carey graces us with her presence to close the night. It’s their loss though because she does not disappoint. Bald caps are soon changed over to Santa hats in hope that the Christmas queen gives us her iconic anthem tonight. A montage of her album covers flash up on the screen to build excitement before Carey steps into the arena looking flawless in sparkling outfit with her flowing long locks.
She starts off with a new song ‘Type Dangerous’ from her latest album ‘Here For It All’ before diving into her catalogue of signature classics including ‘Emotions,’ ‘Touch My Body,’ and ‘Dreamlover’. Other than introducing some songs before she sings them with the occasional wave, she doesn’t say much else or really connect deeply with the audience. But the fans are here for whatever level of effort she gives us.
Upbeat tracks like ‘Fantasy,’ ‘It’s Like That,’ and a mash up of ‘Honey’ with ‘Heartbreaker’ give us all the nostalgic feels. With an entourage of dancers and backup singers around her, Carey’s movement is kept to a minimum, which lets her focus on her vocal delivery and as she delves into her emotive ballads like ‘Hero,’ ‘My All,’ ‘Always Be My Baby’ and ‘We Belong Together,’ and it’s clear that vocally she’s still got it – even hitting her signature high-octave whistle notes during her iconic vocal flights.
For a big finale, Carey returns for a surprise encore with her festive hit ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You,’ and it’s everything we’ve dreamed of to hear it live as Marvel Stadium transforms into a winter wonderland with confetti cannons exploding over the audience like snow as Carey defrosts early for the season to grant us our Christmas wishes.
Words by Michael Prebeg
Photos by Jordan Munn
