Sigrid at The Academy, Dublin on March 23rd 2018

In many ways, Sigrid is the perfect anti-popstar popstar. Her image is almost hyper normal, as, at times during her performance at The Academy, she resembles a girl having fun at karaoke with her mates – sans make-up, hair in a pony-tail, wearing jeans and a t-shirt – rather than the fledgling superstar she is. Make no mistake about it, Sigrid is a potential superstar – or a nomal-star if you will – but unlike say Ed Sheeran, who has made a career out of being so regular he’d put drying paint to sleep, Sigrid has a kooky, engaging personality that she is able to back up with a fine voice and interesting collection of songs.

Backed by a fine quartet, Sigrid also brings a live authenticity to the stage absent from much of her pop contemporaries, who often use dance routines and flashy lights to create a visual overload that distracts from the fact that, beyond the hits, there’s not much substance to be found in their deeper cuts.

This is not the case with Sigrid, though that is not to say that all of her material is perfect, far from it, there are several numbers in the set which will obviously disappear in time as her EP is followed by an album and subsequent releases. However, there is enough quality here, even in the lesser moments, to suggest that the hype is not only real, but more than justified.

Instead of starting with one of her hits, she opens the set with Go To War; the drum-heavy number allows her and the crowd to slowly build pace together. Following the tropical-tinged, pure pop of Schedules, Sigrid finally giving the crowd a taste of what they came for with Plot Twist, with the crowd eager to sing along to the tracks refrain “Shots fired”. Once Sigrid moves, she is in almost perpetual motion until the last note of the night is chimed.

How do you know if a song is a hit? The answer to this question is often pure instinct, but one key indicator is a crowd knowing the words to an unreleased song, and if the advance knowledge of I Don’t Buy It is anything to go by, then Sigrid has another hit on her hands.

Songs like Raw, Dynamite and Savage in My Blood showcase a softer side of Sigrid, with her vocal shining over the sparse arrangements. Savage In My Blood  in particular is a stunning vocal, bordering on operatic at times. While Dynamite showcases her abilities to transport her voice to more strenuous Bonnie Tyler style extremes.

Fake Friends, meanwhile, echoes alternative synth leaning acts such as Wye Oak and provides the band with a chance to take the hand break off and rock out.

Credit and Sigrid’s most complete song to date, the pulsating Strangers, which provides the highlight of the night, finishes out the main set with aplomb, before Sigrid and co return to the stage for a brief encore with the emphatically sassy Don’t Kill My Vibe.

Popstars the world over should be worried, there is a normal girl from Norway coming for your job and there’s nothing much you can do about it because she is extraordinary.