Archive photo © CPU – Nathan Dobbelaere
Boy bands are known as true world star factories. Take That brought us Robbie Williams, *NSYNC had Justin Timberlake and Ricky Martin took his first steps on stage at Menudo. It is actually rare for a boy band to launch several major stars. Yet the British One Direction managed to turn all five members into world stars, with Harry Styles as a superstar that no one can ignore. Niall Horan is not that kind of superstar at the moment, with the emphasis on the word yet. Because he already proved that the best man is on the right track to equal Styles’ status at Pinkpop last year. For an hour he had a full festival field shouting along with the lyrics of his extremely danceable songs and that was no different last night in the Sportpaleis.
Before the main character of the evening took to the stage, Tommy Lefroy’s international company had the opportunity to light the fire in the Antwerp pop temple. The duo, consisting of Canadian singer Tessa Mouzourakis and Wynter Bethel from America, had to make do with a half-empty hall at the start due to major logistical problems at the entrance and failing security. Fortunately, the pair clearly didn’t care about that and started their set rock solid with opener “Dog Eat Dog”, but the few spectators made it difficult to stoke the fire in the room. So it never came to a real sea of flames. The technology also let the group down several times, meaning the show barely got into the right flow. TikTok hit “The Cause” managed to get some movement in the audience by waving phones and “Worst Case Kid” also received applause, but you could clearly notice that the spectators spared their vocal cords until the man of the evening made his entrance.
Archive photo © CPU – Nathan Dobbelaere
And whether those vocal cords sounded, for more than two hours. It started long before the first notes were even played in the Sportpaleis. A number of fine graphic designs were displayed on a gigantic canvas that shielded the entire stage, with a scream being heard somewhere in the hall after each new drawing. Once the curtain rose, the hall completely exploded and the sound from the speakers was completely drowned out by the many cheers from the spectators. Niall Horan had clearly let his fans in, because opener “Nice to Meet Ya” immediately turned the concert into a gigantic singalong party. Every letter of “On The Loose” resonated from the audience and during “On a Night Like Tonight” the singer could also count on a lot of support from the thousands of people present.
To prevent the many teenage hearts from melting within fifteen minutes, Horan took a step back by taking a seat behind his piano and briefly sending his band members to the wings. He slowed down a bit and the Irishman even pulled out a piece of small talk, after which he clinked his fingers and started “The Show” on his piano. Even though it seemed like he could do it just fine on his own, his violinist returned after a while to assist him and the song flowed towards a wonderfully compelling piece as we know it from the record. The gate was clearly open and the Sports Palace was bursting at the seams for the umpteenth time. And while the best was yet to come.
Archive photo © CPU – Nathan Dobbelaere
Horan is taking a completely different tack in terms of setlist this tour. While many other world stars perform the same few songs every night during a tour, with the Irish singer-songwriter it is a guess at every show which songs will be featured that evening. Of course, the biggest hits from the arsenal are played one by one with passion and there is something of a pattern to the tour, but the fact that he played “Never Grow Up” came as a surprise to many concertgoers. The song found its way to the stage for the first time, but everyone still had the lyrics ready and every syllable of the lyrics sounded from all angles. With a sea of ripped off phones in front of him, Horan started his “Heartbreak Weather” and showed that he is a true stage animal. With a simple snap of his fingers he easily won everyone over and with “Black and White” he went even further. Niall was very strong in the match, flowed through his set with playful ease and managed to impress time and time again with his amazing singing talent, after which the floodgates opened and the flood of molten teenage hearts flooded the room.
After a burst of energy it was time to take back the accelerator. The lights dimmed and the instruments moved towards the same catwalk where Niall had been standing alone until minutes earlier, when part of his band joined him for a dash of acoustic sounds. “Flicker”, “This Town” and “You Could Start a Cult” were performed sublimely and moved many spectators. We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again with love: this man was truly very strong in the match.
Archive photo © CPU – Nathan Dobbelaere
After the audience had been able to fill their lungs again during a short breather, they were ready again to give everything for the artist they adore so much during the second part of the show. Fortunately, because after the break Horan immediately started with “Heaven”, which put us in sweet heaven for a moment. The One Direction style was also tapped and with “Stockholm Syndrome” a song from a bygone era emerged. Many of those present were probably already fans of the budding superstar at the time, because here too, every word was happily sang along while Niall and his band brought the song to perfection.
In the second half of his set, the Irishman turned into a musical steamroller, thundering effortlessly through his extensive repertoire and with every hit that had not been featured before finding its own place. While he captivated the audience with “Paper Houses,” he also performed songs like “Meltdown” and “Mirrors” in a way that was just as good as on the records. Everyone knows that you have to peak at the end of your performance and Niall also did that, because with his irresistible but especially danceable “Slow Hands” he brought his biggest hit to the Sportpaleis at the last minute. With this song he sent every spectator home with a smile on their faces, as the curtain fell for the last time and the Sportpaleis was able to recover from the unprecedented performance of the Irish pop giant.
Archive photo © CPU – Nathan Dobbelaere
There are world stars and there are super world stars. For Niall Horan, it won’t be long before he can place himself in the latter category. The best man has the world one hundred percent at his feet and proved last night in a sold-out Sportpaleis that he has everything it takes to reach the real top. Harry: be careful, because your place at the top is in great danger. Your old bandmate is rapidly becoming the superstar of the future.
On March 27 and 28, Niall Horan will visit our northern neighbors, where he and his band will perform twice for a sold-out Ziggo Dome may occur.
Setlist:
Nice to Meet Ya
Small Talk / Edge of Seventeen
On the Loose
On a Night Like Tonight
The Show
Never Grow Up
Heartbreak Weather
Black and White
Flicker
This Town
You Could Start a Cult
Heaven
Everywhere
Stockholm Syndrome
Paper Houses
Meltdown
Mirrors
Still
Save My Life
Slow Hands