Never in my 10 plus years of attending concerts, have I felt such an atmosphere of togetherness. Drake was our God, and we prayed to him as one. No one was off key, no one was silent. If I were Drake, I’d be talking about my Melbourne show for years to come. Melbourne, be proud, because while Drake was putting on a show for us beyond expectations, we sure put on a show for him.

I never have high expectations for rap artist’s shows. There isn’t ever a big stage production, fancy costume changes, and whatnot. They usually must rely only on their presence to have impact. A guy with a mic, with a bit going on, on the big screen behind him, is not very exciting, no matter how popular the music is. It would be good, but nothing memorable, I thought. Well, Drake showed me.

He ran out of the side of the stage to the front, sporting just a simple T, big puffy jacket, what looked like Timberland’s and some jeans. The crowd were screaming from exhilaration. It was after the first song where I realised, this is going to be great. He says something along the lines of, depending how the show is going to go, is how hard he will go. He would be testing the crowd the entire night, and rewarding them with all his heart and soul being poured into the way he performed.

The first test was for the true Drake fans. He wanted to know who had been with him from the beginning, before Take Care and Nothing Was the Same. Best I Ever Had and Over were just two of the songs that introduced us to Drake, and it would be these songs that made an appearance during the test. Melbourne did not fail, singing along to every word. It was this crowd response that would have been beyond anything Drake anticipated from a city outside the U.S/Canada.

Slowly, he would move over to tracks from the two more recent albums, and again, goose bumps were raised. Crew Love, an obvious favourite, together with Take Care and Headlines, and the song that made ‘YOLO’ famous, The Motto all proved Melbourne’s place in Drake’s eyes.

The one thing that made me grow so much more respect for Drake, was his acknowledgment of specific fans. Depending on what they were wearing, or what sign they were holding up, Drake would see them and point them out to say hello. This made the show more personal. He would be carried over the crowd securely harnessed to a small platform, to the middle of the arena. Here, he would perform his hit, Hold On, We’re Going Home. By the end of this track, he would change the lyrics because by then, he knew Melbourne cemented their place as a musically knowledgeable city. The words changed to ‘Hold on Melbourne, I’m not going home,’ and ‘Fuck it, I’m not going home. I’m staying right here.’ Melbourne would have really felt the same love Drake was during this very moment. Making the moment more special, he would point out more fans. He would notice signs that referred to people’s birthdays and wished them a Happy Birthday, and teased a man on the top level for writing a sign too small for him to read. If you had a distinct colour on, he would point you out, and in a Drake style melody, he would say, ‘I see you.’ I have never witnessed this sort of acknowledgment before by any other artist or band. I find the artist to be more humble and down to earth when they can notice all the faces in the crowd, unlike artists such as Justin Bieber or Usher, who take one female up to the stage with them.

One of my other highlights of the night was when he reintroduced his supporting act, 2 Chainz to the stage, and together they performed their exciting track All Me. Being a favourite of mine, I enjoyed the opportunity to see two of the three artists perform this one live. It was also a pleasure for Drake to introduce OB OBrien, who performed one track and represented Drake’s recording company, OVO perfectly. This was also a very exciting moment for those true Drake enthusiasts.

By this stage, there was only one outfit change from the black T, to a white one with the word ‘October’ written across. This would only make sense to those hard-core fans.

He would end the show with a track unlike any other, Started From The Bottom, after claiming there was one track he was forgetting. Once again, like the rest of the show, the crowd did not miss a beat or a lyric.

This show really lived up to the reputation Drake has. He’s a softy, he cares, he knows. He gave us such a warming welcome and like he said in the beginning, ‘I don’t want to change your life tonight; I just want to be part of it.’ He did this so well. He made us all come together and by the end, he was not our God anymore. He was just one of the other voices in the crowd.

There is no way Drake; live at Rod Laver Area in Melbourne, is not worth a solid 5 out of 5.