Tonight, the crowd is the largest it has been all day and Styles is glamorous with a giant fluffy coat that looks like a plucked ostrich. In the middle of his opening song, the brand new “As It Was”, the coat comes out. Styles is now a human mirror ball with a sleeveless, sequined bodysuit – which almost covers his nipples but leaves his décolleté and heavy tattoos on his arms in full view – and a pair of Cuban heels. It’s all very, very Freddie Mercury. “Good evening,” he says honestly. “My name is Harry. It’s a pleasure to be here tonight. ” The conversation, for sure, is a touch at the end of the pier: many references to “give him 200 percent” and how “we have some old and some new and some surprises”. But there are definitely some surprises in store. It is not enough to just impress the old school fans – who are obviously many – playing the success of One Direction in 2011 “What Makes You Beautiful”, it also highlights Shania Twain. The country superstar wears even more glitter than Styles and, with her glamorous mini dress and white Gogo boots, writes “Man! I feel like a woman! “As Styles occasionally participates. Mostly he just looks with adoration. Sitting on a stool, Twain also makes the groundbreaking 1990s hit “Still the One,” but not until they share their compliments. “In the car with my mother as a child, this lady taught me to sing,” says Styles. “He also taught me that men are rubbish.” Then it’s Twain’s turn: “I’m a little lost on words. “I’m a bit of an asteroid.” Later, Styles tries to lean on his apparent obsession with Jackson Browne and James Taylor with the new track “Boyfriends”, a noisy acoustic number for men who take their partners for granted, which he slams into: boyfriends everywhere, f ** * you. ” If Styles’s goal tonight is to transform from a pop prince to a rock titan, he did not succeed. Movies like “Watermelon Sugar” and “Adore You” perform flawlessly, but the repetitive series and somewhat ridiculous tradition deprive them of the spontaneity of a proper rock’n’roll show. But it is his unlimited gloss that makes him a star.
