Shrill cheers inside American Airlines Center in Dallas on Tuesday night were enough to blow out an eardrum. That would have been any unsuspecting concertgoer's first clue that British heartthrob Harry Styles was in town.
The 24-year-old returned for his second local concert in the past year, giving his self-titled debut album an encore performance to a house packed floor to rafters with adoring fans.
Let's make one thing clear, though: Young women might have made up the bulk of the audience Tuesday, but Styles isn't making music for teenage girls. Not anymore.
Since The X Factor-crafted boy band One Direction split ways, Styles has forged a career all his own, blossoming into a rock-'n'- roll artist with a penchant for flashy suits and moves like Mick Jagger.
In Dallas, Styles proved he's not riding the coattails of his successful boy band, at least not completely.
Opener Kacey Musgraves, a star in her own right, was a slightly unusual fit for the bill. Gleaming like a disco ball in a her silver leotard, the East Texas native hit the highlights of her new album, Golden Hour, including the crooning "Space Cowboy" and the heartfelt "Butterflies," on which she played guitar.
While the mellow vibe expertly showcased Musgraves' vocal prowess, it did little to rile up the audience for the rowdy headliner.
Before Styles' performance started, the stage was enclosed by a circular video screen with an animation of a suited man fiddling with a Rubik's Cube. (That the anticipation was set to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" was a nice touch for the older folks in the room.) When the screen lifted, Styles matched the cacophony of screaming girls with the energy he exuded from the stage immediately.
Backed by a four-piece band, Styles launched into a nearly two-hour set with "Only Angel," an energetic track that harkens back to the heyday of the British Invasion. He carried the same balance of grace and grit seamlessly into the sultry "Woman," before slowing the vibe for ballads "Ever Since New York" and "Two Ghosts."
And what Harry Styles concert would be complete without a few One Direction covers? The singer appeased longtime fans with a classic rendition of "If I Could Fly," and also breathed new life into "Stockholm Syndrome," giving the pop melodies more rock edge.
Styles performed most of his tunes from a main stage at one end of American Airlines Center and traveled to a smaller one at the opposite side of the venue for a stint to serenade fans, with camera phones following his every step. At one point on his way back to the main stage, Styles picked up a rainbow flag and a Texas state flag, which he waved before wishing the audience a "Happy pride month" and jumping into One Direction's most popular song, "What Makes You Beautiful," and his solo breakout track, "Sign of the Times."
Styles cleaned up shop in the encore with a riveting cover of Fleetwood's Mac's "The Chain" and his bombastic closer "Kiwi."
It wasn't the most original set. In fact, Styles followed previous performances exactly with regard to which songs he played and in which order, according to set lists culled from other concert dates. Still, the singer is nothing if not a showman, and he made the Dallas fans feel like this show was entirely their own.
It helped that Styles can captivate an audience with only so much as a smile and a wave — and he leveraged that ability on more than one occasion. But as his crystal-clear vocals permeated the upper levels of the venue, it was obvious Styles doesn't need to hide behind his charisma. And he certainly shouldn't be dismissed simply because he used to be in a boy band.
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