Perhaps there has never been a better time to watch Harry Styles perform live than right now. The English singer-songwriter is at his peak in popularity: he concluded his 15-night run at New York's Madison Square Garden last September, As It Was was the most streamed track on Spotify in 2022, and most recently, he collected two Grammy Awards and four Brit Awards, having won Album of The Year categories at both.
The Love On Tour began in 2021 and was in support of his second and third albums Fine Line and Harry's House. It finally landed in Bangkok on March 11. It won't be a hyperbole to say he is music's golden boy of the moment, pun very intended.
His energetic and joyful performance at the packed Rajamangala National Stadium, his second solo show in Thailand, left no doubt that he has graduated from One Direction to become a full-fledged global star.
There was no opening act except for a playlist of various nostalgic hits from Queen to B*Witched's C'est La Vie. Most likely intentionally, 1D's Best Song Ever was also included which, of course, Stylers sang along to enthusiastically.
When the stage lights were off, everyone had their phones ready to capture the opening while chanting "Harry". A blue bird flew in as waves of colours swept across three LED screens on the stage before Styles showed up on stage, aptly in a white top with black sequin polka dots, a huge black sequin waistband, black trousers with silver sequin polka dots and Adidas sneakers as fans screamed their heads off.
He launched into Music For A Sushi Restaurant for a very groovy kick-off before putting on a guitar to uplift the crowd with a summery and upbeat feel of Golden despite the song being about hope and worries that come with entering into a new relationship. He dropped a sawasdee krub towards the end of the song, which sent fans into a screaming and cheering frenzy. It was the first of several Thai phrases he dropped that night. Styles continued with midtempo Adore You where he walked toward the B stage to greet fans during its prolonged outro.
Styles wai'ed and uttered song siang noi before he had the night's first chit-chat with the fans. He spoke about how hot Thai weather is and joked that he might slip at some point during the night, due to the sweat. Not that we mind a wet Harry.
The concert resumed with a breezy train of Keep Driving and Daylight before things turned sultry with Woman, from his eponymous debut studio album, which ended with an extended outro where members of his live band got to showcase their instrumental talents.
Styles moved to the B stage to deliver a heartfelt acoustic rendition of Matilda, which had the crowd singing along to its touching chorus. Definitely one of his best vocal moments of the night. He followed with another acoustic bliss of Little Freak, reminiscing about an ex (if you figure out who, slide into our DMs) in the song, before he delivered the airy and light vibe of Satellite.
The groovy mood took over the arena with pop-funk Cinema as fans raised and clapped their hands before the anthemic Treat People With Kindness was performed and transitioned without a stop into What Makes You Beautiful, the uptempo pop-rock from his 1D era. He turned on the R&B and groovy mode with Late Night Talking before performing pop-funk Watermelon Sugar and seemingly closed the concert on a longing note with Love Of My Life.
The sad piano of Signs Of The Time signalled the start of his encore. He gave another vocal moment when he impressively belted the climax of the power ballad on the B-stage and wai'ed in several directions while saying kob khun krub. The bright and joyful synth-pop that is As It Was sent fans screaming once more before he rocked out with Kiwi to close the show for real.
Besides high-energy performance and a positive vibe, his show is known for the candid interaction between him and his fans. As per Styles' style, he asked a few lucky fans for their names and read their signs on Saturday night. At one point, he spotted a couple holding a sign that says, "Mango or Coconut?", an obvious nod to him being spotted buying coconut juice in Bangkok, so he asked the crowd to vote on which fruit they preferred by show of hand as he jokingly counted them. Thanks to his wit, there's no dead air.
On top of the 20-track setlist, Styles was being extra sweet with his wai and quite-often use of Thai phrases. He kicked off the Asia leg of Love On Tour in Bangkok while the tour is set to finish in Italy in July.
