REVIEW / CONCERT
HARRY STYLES LIVE ON TOUR 2017
The Star Theatre
Thursday
It is clear. Harry Styles has truly shed his boyband innocence for bona fide rock star prowess in his first outing as a solo artist.
All it takes is seeing the 23-year-old play live to know that.
Performing his first solo show in Singapore, the British singer had the sold-out 5,000-capacity Star Theatre eating out of his silver-ringed hand for a brisk 75 minutes.
While he might have gained fame as a member of British-Irish boyband One Direction, he was more of a modern-day Mick Jagger as he lorded over the stage in his fabulously gaudy floral Gucci suit, sprinkling his magic dust over the legions of swooning teenage girls decked out in $50 concert T-shirts.
Backed by a four-piece band that looked as though they were straight out of the 1970s, he weaved with ease in and out of slower, pensive numbers such as Ever Since New York and Two Ghosts as well as jaunty, upbeat numbers such as Carolina. But he truly shone on rock anthem Only Angel when he dropped the guitar to work the length of the stage, high fiving and blowing kisses, winking and dancing in ecstasy.
All the while, he was the polite British gentleman, taking time out to ask the crowd of teenagers, who shrieked at his every grin: "You doing all right?"
You would never have noticed that he has only one 10-song album to his name.
The set list was a testament to the strength of that record as he delivered hit after hit, from the Bennie & The Jets-type tune Woman to brassy, rock 'n' roll number Kiwi.
Styles' success on stage also came from never taking himself too seriously. When a fan threw a rubber chicken on stage midway through Woman, he gamely picked it up and played with it during the song's breakdown, accidentally breaking it in two. Like a naughty schoolboy who got caught, he mouthed a "sorry" to the crowd before carrying on, like the charmer he is.
He padded out the rest of his set with four covers. The first was Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart, a song he wrote for pop diva Ariana Grande three years ago, followed by updated, rock versions of One Direction pop songs Stockholm Syndrome and What Makes You Beautiful.
He even gave the boyband a shoutout, saying: "The last time I was here in Singapore, I was with my wonderful friends."
He saved the best cover for the encore, when he did a faithful and spectacular rendition of Fleetwood Mac's rock anthem The Chain.
But it was closing number Sign Of The Times that stole the show. After a false start - for which he took the blame - and a couple of giggles later, Styles went full whack on the grandiose, David Bowie-type number.
While he did not quite go for the high notes at the end, kudos to his band for filling the cavernous Star Theatre with the lush soundscape of the track - his first single and the song that put him on the map as a solo artist.
This was definitely a teaser that left one wanting more and looking forward to what Styles' second show in Singapore, as part of this tour in May next year, has to offer.