Singing comedian Bo Burnham released his latest show on Friday night. In Make Happy, Burnham is able to produce new content while still being true to himself. What is most interesting about his shows are his diverse ways of making an audience laugh. Through musical numbers, sketches, and stand-up comedy, Burnham can connect to a wide range of comedy audiences. Another key factor as to why his shows are interesting to watch, is that he is unpredictable as a performer. Burnham switches between comedic styles often throughout his act, creating an almost meta performance.

This show was a follow-up to his 2013 live-taping of What. Before What, from 2008 to 2010, Burnham produced three studio albums. Burnham used a mix of hip-hop wordplay and edgy subject matter to gain fame. From poking fun at music artists who promote the stoppage of illegally downloaded songs to singing a love song about Helen Keller and her disabilities, Burnham isn’t afraid to speak his mind in front of a crowd. In Make Happy, Burnham brings a new element into his act. He on stage energy makes him worth watching. Burnham runs from his piano to a mic stand on the opposite side of the stage

He never wastes a moment, as he tells a joke in between his acts to keep the crowd preoccupied. A striking difference from What, Burnham takes cheap-shots at the music industry and Hollywood itself. Multiple times in his show he calls the artists “liars,” and “thieves,” for taking the audiences time and money. Towards the end of the show, Burnham brought up the house lights and spoke seriously with the audience. He talked about how this generation is not a “me” generation, but it is full of people who have become arrogant about themselves and the crave for attention of others. Burnham goes on to explain that social media became the platform for people to perform, and that people can be much happier without them having to perform for an audience. Burnham has included mild social consciousness in his work before, but nothing like this.

After dropping the pipe-bomb, Burnham lightened the mood by ending the show with his rendition of something he had seen at a Kanye West concert. Overall this show was slightly weaker than What. He does do a good job of being original and not venturing too far from his earlier work. Burnham’s show is definitely something that an avid comedy fan should check out. Both What and Make Happy are both available on Netflix.