A halo over the Hub: Tiffany Day lights up UCSB

Lively up-and-coming pop star Tiffany Day made her UC Santa Barbara debut on a warm Friday night, bringing her signature high energy to a crowd full of enthusiastic students in the University Center Hub. The Oct. 16 show, hosted by the Associated Students Program Board, came after the Canadian-American singer-songwriter dropped her brand new album, “HALO,” on April 3. 

Lang2midi, a local Santa Barbara DJ, kicked off the night with an EDM-style set. The doors opened at 8 p.m., so the set was short to warm up the crowd as they trickled in for the main event. With no specifications about what time she would arrive, the crowd began chanting at around 9:15 p.m. for Day. Nicknamed ‘Tiff’ by her fans, Day didn’t make her fans wait too long and appeared on stage exactly 15 minutes later in a grey-striped long-sleeve shirt and her signature blonde hair.

Day first rose to fame in March 2017 when a candid video of her singing a cover of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen into a conveniently acoustic well in Italy went viral on social media. She has YouTube videos as old as ten years with some of her first pop songs, featuring everything from polished covers to sincere videos with titles such as “an unnamed song I wrote an hour ago” and “a memory we own.” 

As a classically trained multi-instrumentalist, Day taught herself how to play guitar — though she didn’t play any instruments onstage. The star produces most of her own music and has a lot of creative freedom. In 2021, she uniquely mapped her college journey onto a conceptual series of four pop EPs, each corresponding to a different school year. Her first one she called “THE RECOVERY PROJECT,” and it focused on the loneliness and homesickness from moving away from home. The next two, “THE DEPENDENCY PROJECT” and “THE RENEWAL PROJECT” focused on relationships and codependency before she ended the series with “THE GRATITUDE PROJECT,” which expressed her appreciation for her college friends’ support. 

The energy was soaring and the bass was booming as she danced around the stage, jumping and hyping up the crowd. Tickets went for $20 for students and $40 for non-students, and the event garnered around 725 eager attendees according to a member of the Associated Students Program Board. Two students even drove all the way from UC Riverside just to see her. The seniors, Emma and Andrea, said, “We’re just so excited to get to see her so close, especially since we tried to see her a few months ago.” They really enjoyed the indoor setting — apart from the heat. 

There was no shortage of stuffy air due to the indoor venue. Only a few ceiling fans frantically tried their best to keep everyone cool. Luckily, about halfway through Day’s performance, event staffers passed a few water bottles into the crowd. 

Owen Souza, a fourth-year political science major, commented on the warmth experienced by many during the concert. “The Hub could use a lot more circulation, especially under the stage,” he said. 

Paisley Koh, a first-year economics and communication double major, has been a fan of Day for several years and attended one of her concerts in 2023.

“I liked her old music, when she was more indie-pop, but I like the transition to hyperpop.” Koh said. 

Day’s first album, “Lover Tofu Fruit,” was released in 2024 and sounds a bit different than her current style. She made the pivot from bedroom pop into hyperpop and electronic dance with “HALO” and has gained many new fans because of it. 

UCSB alum Ethan Rogers, a stylish concert-goer, remarked that “THE GRATITUDE PROJECT” was the first instance of the hyperpop genre that Day had released. 

“She’s such a talented songwriter,” Rogers said. Like many of her fans, he expressed an appreciation for the depth of the lyrics that she achieves while keeping the tone upbeat and playful. 

“HALO” centers on Day’s struggle with identity — a very relatable concept for young adults. Track 11, “AMERICAN GIRL,” opens with the line, “how can I be myself, if I don’t know who the fuck I am,” which captures a conflict many college students may experience. Day’s vulnerable lyricism has earned her more devoted fans than her distorted, pitch-shifted vocals alone, but together they produce a complete showstopper. 

She titled the album “HALO” as a nod to her mental health journey as she nearly walked away from music following creative exhaustion. She mentioned in an interview for KMUW that the title is also inspired by her childhood feelings and experience growing up in Wichita. The hyperpop album and genre switch is definitely a triumph for the young star. Hyperpop might be an oversimplification for this masterpiece, though, as it was crafted from other influences such as trap, hip-hop and dubstep. 

“I was journaling about it for months. I always wanted to belong to a niche, and [electronic music] felt like it was calling to me, but it terrified me what people would think of me and my music,” she told Fader in an interview. She felt a little discouraged when she initially released it to minimal fan interaction, but after posting thirty times in a row she found herself with new followers and new fans.

Day didn’t name her tour “HALO” unintentionally; the 26-year-old played her newly released songs off of her “HALO” album almost exclusively. The crowd didn’t seem to mind. They sang every word excitedly, even when she slowed things down for “IT’S NOT LIKE THAT ANYMORE.” As one of her more emotional songs, it features lyrics such as “If maybe I just stopped reaching out, would anyone notice me? […] But I’m too embarrassed to tell anyone that I got help.” The vulnerable, heartfelt lines are not a departure from her usual lyrical candor, but the track’s pacing is much less upbeat.

“It’s okay to cry guys, it’s cool,” Day said to the amusement of the attendees. There were a few watery eyes, but the energy picked right back up again when she followed it up with “NO LUCK.”

With the last notes of the set, Tiffany waved goodbye and left the stage, but the crowd wasn’t ready. A chant of “one more song” quickly filled the Hub until she reappeared to a roar of cheers. She ended the night with “AMERICAN GIRL,” and the room sang its now-familiar opening line back to her as loudly as they could. For a song about not knowing who you are, it was a fitting finale for a crowd of college students still figuring that out themselves..

This article appeared in the Oct. 22 print edition of the Daily Nexus.