Rod Wave, quietly one of music's biggest stars, is man of the people at Milwaukee concert

Taylor Swift and Rod Wave. That’s it.

Those are the only two artists who have had three different No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 over the past three years.

That’s not a surprising accomplishment for our planet’s biggest phenomenon, who will nab her fourth No. 1 album since 2021 with the re-recorded “1989” released this month.

But Wave's feat is remarkable, considering the Florida rapper and singer has yet to have a single crack the top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100, and that his latest album, last month's "Nostalgia," managed to knock Olivia Rodrigo's heavily anticipated sophomore album "Guts" from its top spot after one week.

Wave may not be a household name like Swift — who is, though, really? But with all due respect to the Swifties, standing inside a sold-out Fiserv Forum Saturday for the third date of his "Nostalgia" tour felt like being in the center of the universe.

Honestly, it wasn't because he's the most animated and engaged performer. This is Wave's second arena tour, and he did a bunch of touring after launching his music career in 2017 (including multiple shows at the Rave in Milwaukee), but I was struck how many times Saturday, over 28 songs in 73 minutes, that Wave sang and rapped with his back completely to the audience.

There were some steps taken to up the grandeur from Wave's previous arena run, which stopped at Fiserv Forum last November, including more lavish video walls and extra platforms and runways. The most significant effort was a surprise appearance from Sadie Jean, who went viral on TikTok with her song "WYD Now?" that she partially repurposed for Wave's "2018" from "Nostalgia." Jean came on stage first, lifted about 15 feet in the air on a platform, poignantly pining for a dream with a past lover left unfulfilled. And then Wave emerged to respond on his own elevated platform, the confession bringing more context, and anguish, to Jean's pain.

"My tongue got twisted, I don't know what to say/Should have picked up the phone but pride got in the way," he sang Saturday. "Couldn't write my wrongs, so I was writing songs/Such a successful life, but my heart is gone."

Wave isn't a superstar by acting like a superstar. Like Jelly Roll, a rapper who embraced country music and is selling out huge venues, Wave's vulnerability, his straightforward honesty, his ongoing struggle to free himself from the shackles of trauma, are his greatest strengths.

He's a man of the people — even Wave's between-song comments about the ups and downs of his life, while no doubt practiced, seemed off the cuff Saturday.

When he was "sitting in my feelings reminiscing about the past" for "2019," from 2021's "SoulFly," or confessing he "don't feel love, only tension" despite his success, for the "Nostalgia" title track, Wave, who clearly has a strong voice, didn't sing to the rafters, didn't "capital p" perform. The softness of his voice made the revelations seem more sincere.

Instead, he left the big, bold singing to his fans. And he did that time and again. The DJ, and Wave's own live vocals, dropped out so the crowd could belt out the heart-wrenching choruses to "Sweet Little Lies," "Street Runner," "Alone" and other songs that brought him to his level.

Most of the time when artists do that, it comes across like a cop-out, like they're cutting corners. But when Wave does it, it feels different.

Wave is singing and rapping about his own issues, but the songs' openness — more lyrically direct than many, if not all, of his peers — gives his ever-growing fan base an opportunity to process their own pain.

So Saturday, when for instance they sang "finally I'll be resting in peace" at their top of their lungs during "Tombstone," the singalong carried some of the greatest emotional heft you'd hear at any concert.

And that's something any friendship-bracelet-swapping Swiftie would understand.

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Ari Lennox, Toosii and Eelmatic opened

In Milwaukee at least, the live audience for Wave has broadened a bit since his last time through town. But in terms of numbers, Black women remain the most dominant group. And R&B singer Ari Lennox, Saturday backed by a live band, spoke directly to them with empowering songs like “New Apartment,” with Lennox reveling in newfound independence. And I’d wager even Wave would admit Lennox had the most soulful vocals of the night.

Like Wave, Toosii — one of his openers at Wave's Fiserv Forum concert last year, and again Saturday — has seen his profile grow significantly in recent months, thanks to crossover hit “Favorite Song,” a signature showcase for Toosii’s vulnerable touch. Amped as the crowd was for Toosii 11 months ago, it was twice as intense Saturday. Feeling that energy, Toosii went a cappella for the first song, the DJ cutting the music for the end of opening track “Love Is … ,” the crowd passionately yelling the heartbroken lyrics back at the stage. And when Toosii fled the stage soon after — only to walk through the pit and pick up the show surrounded by fans in Section 107 — the crowd really lost it.

Rapper and singer Eelmatic has also toured with Rod Wave before, and he brought a casual, comfortable approach to the night’s first set. But between a scant 15-minute set, lack of personality and prerecorded vocals nearly overpowering his live ones, he didn’t make much of an impression.

3 takeaways from Rod Wave’s Milwaukee concert at Fiserv Forum

• Just three dates in, Wave has already adjusted the most talked-about moment in the tour. On Thursday at the kickoff in Lincoln, Nebraska, Wave, during "Nostalgia" song "Come See Me," stood on the railing of a balcony and jumped, crashing through the stage and landing on some unseen crash pads, inspired by a moment in the song's music video. Maybe he didn't want to take the risk — or perhaps there's been pushback over Wave performing what seems to be suicide on stage. But on Saturday, Wave stood on a stepping stool near the balcony rail, then made his exit through a sliding glass door behind him.

• For anyone upset that Wave didn't sing "Forever" from last year's "Beautiful Mind" album Saturday, there was some consolation: The song played as people made their way to the exits, inspiring a loud singalong from fans in the arena concourses.

• A suggestion for Rod Wave's DJ, who at this rate I can only assume will be back with him at Fiserv Forum next year. The songs you played to warm up the crowd definitely did the trick, but if you modified the playlist to include some songs from Milwaukee street rap stars, I guarantee people will absolutely lose it — just like the guy blasting Chicken P's "Here Now" from his car stereo did outside Fiserv Forum after the show.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rod Wave, bigger than ever, a man of the people at Milwaukee concert