Live Report: ASHNIKKO turns 3Olympia into Smoochie World

ASHNIKKO shocks with how much energy she has. Her 2 hour+ show in Dublin was full of jumping and extensive choreography, all delivered by a singer who was sick and on her period, as she shared herself in the first few minutes of the show. What stood out was her ability to not take herself too seriously while still retaining a commanding stage presence. On one hand, she's an alt-pop sensation, and on the other, she's your friend.

ASHNIKKO is a North Carolina-born American rapper and singer-songwriter now living in London. She blends alt-pop, hyper-pop, and electronic music with heavier influences from punk and metal. Her lyrics often cover feminist and sex-positive topics, accompanied by a fast-paced and highly energetic beat.

Ashnikko at 3Olympia Theatre on February 17th, 2026. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

The show started with a voiceover of ASHNIKKO looking for things in her bag. While searching for lipgloss, she found a tiny door (like in Alice in Wonderland), transporting us into a different dimension - Smoochie World, depicted in her album Smoochies. The stage is full of props and clutter, or trinkets as she calls them. As lights flashed she appeared, wearing a raft of mismatching fabric pieces, topped with a big bow at the front. She looked and moved like a little porcelain doll.

ASHNIKKO started off with 'Sticky Fingers', as two ballerinas joined her on stage. The bass was strong and bouncy, and her presence was cute, playful, and confident, with a lot of sexy dancing happening. At one point, she stopped to listen to the crowd shouting and applauding. She asked: “did you also come here through the tiny door in my purse?”, immersing the audience in her world-building. There was a lot of pink, blue, and purple colours going on, while sweet pastels, ribbons, and dresses made the stage look like a little doll house, giving vibes of Melanie Martinez's Cry Baby, but with a more hardcore twist.

Ashnikko at 3Olympia Theatre on February 17th, 2026. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Naturally, ASHNIKKO stopped to have a look at her fans' outfits. The 'Demidevils' are a very fashionable fandom: colourful hair, fishnets, and "ity-bitty" skirts dominated the 3Olympia.

The singer also took some time in between the songs to explain their meaning. She introduced 'Microplastics' as a feeling of being so deeply in love with someone that you want to be inside them like, well.. microplastics. She has this ironic approach to writing music that makes you laugh, without taking anything away form how enjoyable it is.

In line with the theme of her album, she promised she'd take every trinket her fans leave behind at the merch stand. Then she got handed a stuffed toy rat from the audience, which she kept with her on stage for the rest of the show. She also received an Irish flag with her face on it. That's when she shouted "I love this! We are linked forever".

Ashnikko at 3Olympia Theatre on February 17th, 2026. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

With more props being brought out by the dancers, such as the 'trinket trunk' and crow beaks, the stage turned more and more into Alice in Wonderland-esque trippiness. There was a scary, modulated voiceover, appearing every now and then, introducing you to the Smoochie world from the bottom of ASHNIKKO'S purse. The choreography combined the expressiveness of mime, with the theatrical flair of a burlesque show.

While ASHNIKKO didn't strain from giving a few silly monologues about her belly button, sex, and soup, she also brought a few important topics, like consent, explaining that: "saying 'no' is a very important spell for a witch". She also exclaimed "Fuck ICE" at one point, which got the crowd cheering even louder.

Ashnikko at 3Olympia Theatre on February 17th, 2026. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

As the show went on, the energy shifted more and more towards that of a nightclub or rave. ASHNIKKO played a few of her old songs, such as 'You Make Me Sick' and her breakthrough TikTok song 'STUPID', which swell with a stronger, electronic, metal-adjacent sound, making the floor shake from all the jumping and resonating bass.

Towards the end, she crowned the 'Smoochie Girl of the Show', giving the 'Best Smoochie Girl in Town' sash to a fan. The rest of the set was just a club night out, accompanied by a continuation of singer's high-energy, electropop tunes like 'I Want My Boyfriends to Kiss', 'Full Frontal', or 'Daisy'.