Oh, how wrong we all were to wail into our pillowcases that One Direction would never come to the UAE. Just this weekend, I bought tickets to see them in London where they’ll be performing in June, thinking it would be a while until they stopped by my neck of the woods.
On Monday, organisers announced the boys would be here on April 5, 2014. Teaches me to doubt fate.
For some, this show means jumping up and down in anticipation for the next 11 months. For others, it means lamenting the good old days when we all listened to ‘real music’.
I come bearing good news.
As someone who’s been a fan since the ‘early’ days (that is, erm, a short four years ago) and has seen them perform live four times, I can safely say the band does, in fact, make real music — and it’s pretty fantastic at that.
A quick round of myth busters: “One Direction don’t write their own songs!” The boys had a hand in writing the majority of their last album, Midnight Memories. “But they don’t play their own instruments!” Actually, some do. Mr Niall Horan likes to rock out on electric guitar and has been known to pull out the acoustic for emotional numbers.
For a 24-year-old like me, 1D is just a breath of fresh air. They’ve helped alleviate the pain of everything from morning traffic to the death of a loved one. It’s not hard to see why their music has broken records. They’ve ditched the ‘cloned members’ shtick — each boy dresses how they want — and bid farewell to choreographed dance routines. They don’t take themselves too seriously, they interact with their fans, and they give a truly fun show — none of that prerecorded stuff, thanks. Each member adds a little flavour: Harry Styles is the big personality with the rocky tone, Horan is the prince of showmanship, Louis Tomlinson is the class clown with the vulnerable timbre, Liam Payne brings the earnest falsetto and Zayn Malik provides the stand-out vocal runs.
If nothing else, 1D created a flurry of passion amongst a demographic that didn’t get to experience firsthand the excitement that surrounded pop stars like the Beatles or Michael Jackson. And whatever you say about pop, it’s a genre that’s made millions happy. Come April of next year, the same will likely be said of the thousands of fans leaving the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens Stadium with smiles splitting their faces.
