Whoever thought that during the One Direction hiatus the members of the band would be inactive was well cheated, the five boys are more popular than ever, each with their own songs and albums having a great success. But, among them, Harry Styles stands out, the pop star with the rock licks in his own league, that recently finished his first world tour without One Direction.
The star hits the stage, entertains the audience, is super charismatic and sings super well the songs he composed. The duration of the show is about an hour and a half, and even in this short period of time, Harry is able to show all his talent and compassion, because, besides reaching very high notes in songs like "sign of the times" and "kiwi", the singer, actor and music writer makes beautiful demonstrations regarding campaigns supported by him in favor of LGBT pride, and against racism, such as Black Lives Matter. “Be whoever you want to be in this room tonight,” he tells the crowd, practising the acceptances he preaches because he seems more himself here than he ever did in One Direction. He proves his superstar status easily but he maintains a sincere level of modesty throughout the entire show, making him more personable than a lot of his pop star peers.
At the show in Brazil, where I was present, Harry made a nice entrance, then kicked off with "Only Angel" and "Woman", leaning heavily into the 1970s rock scene (the wraparound screen displaying colourful and quirky Yellow Submarine-inspired illustrations also helped). For the fan favorite “Medicine”, the stage glowed red as the guitar played the bass capable of shivering anyone, the song shook the show with a rocker feeling before proceeding to the woozy “Meet Me in the Hallway.”
shook the show with a rocker feeling before proceeding to the woozy “Meet Me in the Hallway.”
Since Styles only has one album with ten songs – and he isn’t the type that avoids his past even as he evolves – a handful of One Direction songs cheered the set. As pink lights flashed across the stage and the first serrated guitar notes of “Stockholm Syndrome” played, the crowd erupted in a nostalgic frenzy dating all the way back to 2014.
In the same vibe, Harry also sings songs like "What makes you beautiful" and covers the 1970s songs like "The Chain", by Fleetwood Mac and even some more current songs like "Girl Crush", by Little big town and "Still the one", by Shania Twain. Styles may be in the early stages of his solo career but with performances like this, it’s clear that he’s in it for the long run.
OVERALL RATING: *****
by Laura Corsini Favero
REVIEW: On the road again with Harry Styles
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Artwork by: Laura Corsini Favero