Bruno Mars, Ne-Yo, Badshah light up NYE in the UAE

The New Year’s Eve festivities drew the stars down to the UAE, with 11-time Grammy winning American singer, songwriter and record producer Bruno Mars leading the charge as he brought his ‘24K Magic’ to Abu Dhabi for a concert at du Arena.

Across the highway, American singer Ne-Yo sang his way into the New Year at White Beach, Atlantis, The Palm, while R’n’B artist Nelly took things up a notch at Drai’s Dubai, with Bollywood rapper Badshah performing mere metres away at the Meydan Grandstand with his own Race 2020 concert.

Mars, who is a veteran on the UAE stage — having performed here on numerous occasions — was performing in Abu Dhabi as part of the two-day Resolution festival on Yas Island. The music maestro began his performance with the Grammy-winning record ‘24K Magic’, followed by some of his biggest singles including ‘Treasure’, ‘Versace on the Floor’, ‘Uptown Funk’, ‘Perm’ and ‘That’s What I Like’.

As the showman thanked the capital for spending the last minutes of the decade with him, he took spectators down memory lane with an exceptional vocal display of some of his most memorable songs over the last decade including ‘Nothin’ On You’, ‘It Will Rain’ and ‘When I Was Your Man’.

As the opening chords of ‘Just the Way You Are’ began to play, the audience counted down to midnight, with a fireworks display capping the night.

Also performing in Abu Dhabi on the night were Arab stars Nancy Ajram and Tamer Hosny at a gala concert on Al Maryah Island. The latter has ended 2019 on a high note with his film, ‘El Folos’, proving to be a big hit in the region.

In Ras Al Khaimah, songstress Najwa Karam dazzled in silver as she held her own NYE’s concert with Waleed Al Shami.

Dubai also saw Jonas Blue and Jax Jones light up the night with their biggest hits at Zero Gravity, performing to a packed crowd until 2am.