Conor Maynard was in good spirits on January 1 as he kicked off the New Year with a free, open-air acoustic performance at Iris Dubai, surrounded by fans.
The 24-year-old singer-songwriter — known for his YouTube covers of popular hits and his 2012 debut album, Contrast — put on a short but sweet set. He sang a mix of Drake, Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Zayn (“It’s so high,” he said, mid-Pillowtalk falsetto), and pulled out his scarcely performed Controlla medley, which currently boasts 17 million views on YouTube.
Maynard also treated fans to his own hits, from Animal and Turn Around to Can’t Say No and R U Crazy?
Though he planned to end with a slowed-down rendition of his latest earworm, Are You Sure? — he crooned “Who do you love?” rhetorically, but his fans made sure to scream “YOU!” every time — the crowd wasn’t ready for the gig to be over.
A good sport, the singer chatted with fans and took requests. At one point, an internet-less Maynard asked the audience to look up lyrics to The Chainsmokers’ Don’t Let Me Down on their phone so he could sing it, but inevitably began humming random, panicked sounds as the phone screen locked halfway.
Maynard also sang happy birthday to four girls — “Who do I look at? I feel like I’m cheating on each one of you,” he joked — and continued the night at his own table, happy to snap a few selfies along the way.
