Recommendations of the Editorial team
After years of forced break, the son of Mannheim wants to “be back in it.” He will succeed. They all reported from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne: From “Bild” to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” they wanted to get a close look at Xavier Naidoo from the wide area at an appropriate safety distance. Objective: to mark his first appearance in six years as a “social test run”. After all, there will be a booked tour with further additional concerts in January 2026 because of the great demand – after all the oddities in words and sounds.
Colleagues largely agree in their reports: 16,000 fans cheer, stamp and rage. A go-anywhere atmosphere. What is true no longer matters. “Purely musically,” Naidoo remains “outstanding.” A magician of voice. ROLLING STONE decided not to make a quick visit to Cologne-Deutz for the opening concert.
From beguiling to disturbing
When Xavier Naidoo sang the self-referential verse “my voice has beguiled some, my words have disturbed many” in the song “Hear, Hear” twelve years ago, the free-wheeling madness that he partly tapped out as a QAnon disciple was still encapsulated in his cannabis-addled brain. Inspired by the Corona era, it broke out of him. In his strange video apology from 2022, he spoke in penitential style of “losing his way”, “mistakes” and having made “disturbing statements”. It was his way of putting an end to his “rumbling phase”. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra: He did it his own way. There was probably nothing more possible. This nebulous path continued in Cologne. The music critics praised the “highly precise” backing band, which after the falling out with the Sons of Mannheim only consists of parts of the former regular group. “Artistically” a win? The fans were behind him like one.
The power of fact
Anyone who relies solely on the power of fact has long since given carte blanche to Naidoo’s path. 150,000 plus x tickets sold have long been of Rammstein quality. Scandal or outrage from all sorts of well-meaning places and institutions – the caravan moves on. Till Lindemann is also playing his way through Europe. “An apology is an apology,” says Marek Lieberberg in the final style. The organizer legend is right. As head of the major agency Live Nation for the German-speaking GSA region, he confidently controls the fortunes of his protégé through thick and thin. Tonight (December 17th) around 16,000 people will be on the mat again in Cologne. If Xavier Naidoo doesn’t make any more major “mistakes” in the next few weeks and months, he will be “right back in it” in 2026, as he announced in one of his rare announcements on the stage microphone. From the perspective of the neutral observer, such “contradictions” have to be endured. We forgive Morrissey and other quarterly crazy candidates a lot.