Fifth Harmony’s gig at du Forum in Abu Dhabi on Friday night had everything that you could want in a pop concert and more — incredibly impressive vocals, synchronised dance routines and trendy matching outfits.
A mere hour after meeting Gulf News tabloid! backstage for an exclusive interview, the quartet — who had then looked less like stars and more like your friends from next door — had transformed into fierce pop stars who meant business.
The show, which started just after 9pm and lasted about 75 minutes, was super energetic and made you wonder how these ladies (Lauren Jauregui, Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane and Normani Kordei) managed to carry out their seemingly never-ending dance moves and not run out of breath. There didn’t seem to be even a short pant, and their vocals were even better live than on the record.
These stars were on a whole different level of fitness and talent, a testimony to why they won third place in the second season of X Factor USA.
Dressed in black outfits that were not too far from something that Wonder Woman would probably wear, and which did not change for the whole set, the show kicked off with their 2015 hit Worth It, which sent the already hyped up fans into a frenzy.
“Abu Dhabi are you ready to party?” Brooke asked the audience, which got the desired screaming response.
They performed another three songs from their earlier two albums, including Boss and Reflection, filling in for the vocals of ex-member Camila Cabello so swiftly it made no room for her to be missed on stage.
They then moved on to playing music from their latest self-titled album, starting with their hit track Deliver.
Fifth Harmony worked the stage for the entire duration of the show, and knew exactly how to connect with their audience. There was of course, a lot of twerking involved and even Beyonce, the queen of twerking, would have struggled to outdo these musicians.
Make You Mad, All In My Head and Angel were popular with fans who sang every word with the band, but it was Down and He Like That which proved to strike a chord with the crowd.
Before you knew it, they had performed around 17 tracks. Then they took a prolonged bow to show their appreciation and with a “Thank you Abu Dhabi, we love you,” they were gone.
The singers were heading to the airport to fly to Orlando where they are performing on March 18.
