Alesha: Renaissance Live

Alesha: Renaissance Live is the sixth world tour (and eighth overall) by British recording artist Alesha to promote her eponymous ninth studio album Alesha (2014). Following a three-year hiatus from the music industry, Alesha returned in 2014 with the singles "Renaissance" and "Witch". Following her comeback performance at the album launch gig A Night At Royal Albert Hall, Alesha announced her first tour since 2011's Heathen Tour on May 25, 2014. The tour kicked off in Warsaw, Poland on July 24, before moving to North America in September.

The set list included Alesha's new album in its entirety, as well as seven of her number one hits and other old favorites. Alesha performed 22 songs divided into sets by video interludes. A whopping 28 costumes were designed by seven different designers. Alesha personally selected Ace Rejects breakout star Nicola and newcomer Amy-Jayne as support for the tour's first two legs respectively, both of whom celebrated a number one debut album in 2014.

After a brief hiatus over the holiday season, the tour resumed in Australia on January 30, 2015. Whilst performing in Bogota, Colombia, Alesha fainted on stage and was immediately hospitalized for exhaustion. This prompted Alesha to cancel the remainder of the tour's South American dates, as well as a string of "homecoming" shows in the United Kingdom.

Background and development
Alesha announced the world tour on her official website on May 25, 2014, shortly after the release of Alesha's self-titled ninth studio album and its lead single "Witch". The tour, entitled Alesha: Renaissance Live, draws its title from Alesha's promotional single and album track "Renaissance". Alesha thought the title perfectly reflected the climate of her career after a three-year hiatus from the industry in which Alesha battled depression, eventually finding love and marrying American publishing mogul Austin Roosevelt. Initially, dates in Europe and North America were announced by Alesha and Live Nation. Alesha selected Ace Rejects star Nicola and newcomer Amy-Jayne as opening acts. Alesha wrote two songs for Nicola's debut solo album Girl Interrupted (2014), including the top-five single "Killing Me Slow". Ace Rejects had also supported Alesha on 2011's Heathen Tour.

Rather than hiring one designer to design a set of outfits for the tour, Alesha and her stylist contracted four outfits each from seven reputable designers – Balenciaga (under Alexander Wang), Roberto Cavalli, Givenchy (under Riccardo Tisci), Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen (under Sarah Burton), Rodarte (sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy) and Yves Saint Laurent (under Hedi Slimane).

Alesha performed all 13 tracks from her eponymous album. She performed seven of her number one hits: "Diamonds & Dollars", "Bear Dance", "Disciplinary", "Original Sin", "Delusions of Grandeur", "Good Mourning" and "The Last Temptation". Alesha resurrected other songs from earlier in her career, performing top-two hit "Tsunami of the Soul" and a medley of 2007's "London Brat" and 2004's "Let Me Take You There". "Like Freddy", taken from 2007's Alesha Is the Queen, was used in a video interlude.

In late 2014, Alesha announced that she would take the tour to Australia and South America. A string of dates in Australia and New Zealand were announced, beginning at Sydney's Allphones Arena on January 30, 2015. Alesha was scheduled to visit Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. Whilst performing the third date of the South American leg in Bogota, Colombia, Alesha fainted on stage during "Witch" and was immediately hospitalized for exhaustion. This prompted Alesha to cancel the remainder of the tour's South American dates, as well as a string of "homecoming" shows in the United Kingdom.

Critical reception
Reviews for the tour were mostly positive. In a review of the show's opening night in Warsaw, The New York Times wrote that "Alesha's growing pains are gone. Mature and refined, Alesha has aged like a Henri Jayer wine." German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost wrote: "Alesha live in 2014 is still magical and unmatched." Fanny Flynn from Wales Online gave a positive review at the performance in Cardiff. Giving the performance 4 out of 5 stars, she reveals: "Thousands of fans gave a regal welcome as the 'Queen' took the stage", that "the pure theatre of her performance was enough to sustain the 11,000 strong audience" and "the feel good classics proved why the pop diva is the original and the best."

Broadcasts and recordings
Performances in London (August 30), Los Angeles (September 20), New York (October 26) and Sydney (January 30) were filmed for the tour's home media release. Alesha: Renaissance Live was released on DVD and Blu-ray formats on April 20 through Holy Trinity Music Group, Alesha's final release through the label before signing with Fusion Records. In addition to containing the show in its entirety, Alesha also gives fans a peek at her backstage life and time on the road. The video release also includes music videos for "Renaissance", "Witch", "Japan", "Opulence" and "Number One".

Other recordings
High definition footage of Paulo Araujo's appearance at the September 16 show in Vancouver appeared on Alesha's official YouTube page in anticipation of the release of their duets "Opulence" and "Unbeknownst".

Support acts

 * Europe: Nicola
 * North America: Amy-Jayne

Set list

 * 1) Video introduction: "Overture"
 * 2) "Renaissance"
 * 3) "London Brat" / "Let Me Take You There"
 * 4) "Diamonds & Dollars"
 * 5) "White Naomi"
 * 6) Video interlude: "The Hunted"
 * 7) "For Dead"
 * 8) "Velvet Aura / Earth"
 * 9) "Wolves" / "Bear Dance"
 * 10) "Silent Holocaust"
 * 11) Video interlude: "Like Freddy"
 * 12) "Disciplinary"
 * 13) "Japan"
 * 14) "Opulence"
 * 15) "Original Sin"
 * 16) Video interlude: "Alpha & Omega"
 * 17) "Delusions of Grandeur"
 * 18) "Tsunami of the Soul"
 * 19) "Good Mourning"
 * 20) "Symposium"
 * 21) Video interlude: "Supernatural"
 * 22) "Witch"
 * 23) "Ghosts"
 * 24) "Mermaids"
 * 25) "Banshee"
 * 26) "Number One"
 * 27) "The Last Temptation"

European leg

 * 24 July — National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland
 * 25 July — Ernst-Happe-Stadion, Vienna, Austria
 * 27 July — Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
 * 29 July — Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy
 * 30 July — San Siro, Milan, Italy
 * 1 August — Stade de Suisse, Berne, Switzerland
 * 3 August — Kincsem Park, Budapest, Hungary
 * 4 August — Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
 * 6 August — Sportspaleis, Antwerp, Belgium
 * 7 August — Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, Netherlands
 * 9 August — Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany
 * 10 August — Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
 * 13 August — Telenor Arena, Fornebu, Norway
 * 15 August — Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland
 * 17 August — Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
 * 20 August — SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
 * 23 August — Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
 * 26 August — Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
 * 28 August — Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
 * 30 August — Wembley Stadium, London, England
 * 2 September — Stade de France, Paris, France
 * 4 September — Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
 * 6 September — Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain
 * 8 September — Parque de Bela Vista, Lisbon, Portugal

North American leg

 * 16 September — Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC, Canada
 * 17 September — KeyArena, Seattle, WA, USA
 * 19 September — HP Pavilion at San Jose, CA, USA
 * 20 September — Rose Bowl, Los Angeles, CA, USA
 * 22 September — MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA
 * 23 September — Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, USA
 * 25 September — AT&T Stadium, Dallas, TX, USA
 * 26 September — Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX, USA
 * 27 September — Alamodome, San Antonio, TX, USA
 * 29 September — Monterrey Arena, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
 * 1 October — Foro Sol, Mexico, D.F., Mexico
 * 5 October — Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot, San Juan, Puerto Rico
 * 8 October — Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA, USA
 * 10 October — Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL, USA
 * 12 October — Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA, USA
 * 13 October — LP Field, Nashville, TN, USA
 * 15 October — Nationals Park, Washington, D.C., USA
 * 16 October — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA, USA
 * 18 October — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
 * 20 October — Gillette Stadium, Boston, MA, USA
 * 22 October — Bell Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
 * 24 October — Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, ON, Canada
 * 25 October — Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
 * 26 October — Yankee Stadium, New York City, NY, USA
 * 28 October — Heinz Field, Pittsburg, PA, USA
 * 30 October — Ford Field, Detroit, MI, USA
 * 31 October — Soldier Field, Chicago, IL, USA

Australian/New Zealand leg

 * 30 January — Allphones Arena, Sydney, Australia
 * 31 January — Allphones Arena, Sydney, Australia
 * 3 February — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
 * 4 February — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
 * 6 February — Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
 * 7 February — Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand

South American leg

 * 24 February — Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile
 * 28 February — Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru
 * 2 March — Estadio El Campin, Bogota, Colombia

Canceled dates

 * 4 March — Estadio de Fútbol de la USB, Caracas, Venezuela
 * 6 March — Parque dos Atletas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 * 7 March — Parque dos Atletas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 * 10 March — Estádio do Morumbi, Säo Paolo, Brazil
 * 11 March — Estádio do Morumbi, Säo Paolo, Brazil
 * 13 March — River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
 * 14 March — River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
 * 31 March — SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
 * 1 April — SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
 * 3 April — LG Arena, Birmingham, England
 * 4 April — LG Arena, Birmingham, England
 * 8 April — Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
 * 9 April — Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
 * 10 April — Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
 * 14 April — Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, England
 * 15 April — O2 Arena, London, England
 * 16 April — O2 Arena, London, England
 * 17 April — O2 Arena, London, England
 * 18 April — O2 Arena, London, England