Entertainment | Music

UAE fans can't get enough of Ne-Yo

Thirty minutes and only six songs of US R&B star Ne-Yo not enough for his Dubai audience

By Natalie Long, tabloid! Editor
Published: 12:57 May 30, 2011

Image Credit: Arshad Ali/Gulf News
"It's as hot as hell. They didn't tell me... I would have worn less clothes," Ne-Yo told fans before launching into his hit Sexy Love.

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Dubai: Concertgoers were left wanting more after a performance by Ne-Yo on Sunday night ended after half an hour, with the US R&B star singing only six songs — then leaving to go to an afterparty.

The concert, outdoors at Chi @The Lodge nightclub, was organised by Dubai-based King Entertainment, and fans who bought tickets, priced Dh250 and Dh350, had to stand in steaming heat for hours while they waited for the Miss Independent singer to take the stage, which he only did at 1am. The organiser on Monday told tabloid! they planned bring the artist back later this year for a full concert.

The reception he received was rapturous. Coming on to sing his recent hit Beautiful Monster, he charmed his many female fans, telling them, “It’s as hot as hell. They didn’t tell me... I would have worn less clothes,” before launching into his hit Sexy Love. “I gotta find me a little Dubai girlfriend,” he teased. But only a few minutes later, it became clear that he wouldn’t have time.

The singer made the most of the small stage, reaching out to touch and dance with the screaming audience, which surrounded him on all sides. But the crowd seemed to tire of the performance after it became clear during his massive hit Closer that he was singing along to a backing track.

After continuing with other chart hits One In A Million and his hit with Pitbull, Give Me Everything, Ne-Yo told the crowd that he had to head back to the airport because he needed to get back to work on his album, which comes out in September.

The crowd didn’t appear to take him seriously until he started to leave the stage, bringing loud boos from the shocked audience, who, checking their watches, found he’d been on stage for all of 25 minutes.

Looking at his DJ, Ne-Yo appeared to turn his departure into a joke, saying, “I’ve got time for one more,” and went on to sing Miss Independent. That only gave the fans hope that he really was joking, which wasn’t the case.

After the song ended, Ne-Yo was gone, tossing his towel into a sweaty, tired and bemused crowd.

Comments (1)

Added 16:42 May 30, 2011

We came from Abu Dhabi.... What could I say that we have paid 50 Euro for a disco entry to such club as Chi The Lodge... He is awsome, but after 4 hours of waiting we could not enjoy his very short performance... Very disappointing experience, I would not bother to go for another organized by them in Dubai.

Andrea, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates