Abu Dhabi F1 review: Benson Boone meets the high bar for a modern pop performance

American singer-songwriter delivers lively Middle East debut at Etihad Park

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  Benson Boone opens the four-day after-race concert series, part of the annual Abu Dhabi Grand Prix festivities. All photos: Victor Besa / The National

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  Boone's trademark backflip

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  Boone struts his stuff on stage in Abu Dhabi

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  A packed crowd for the show

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  Boone laps up the acclaim

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  The spotlight shines on the US pop star

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  Boone wows the crowd

They say that in show business, you should save your best tricks for last. Benson Boone clearly missed the memo.

The US singer-songwriter opened the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after-race concert series on Thursday with his trademark flip - one of half a dozen in the fist hour alone - a dazzling burst of agility that landed even more impressively considering what he told fans hours earlier during his visit to Yas Marina Circuit.

Boone had arrived in the UAE capital only the day before, straight from the US, and admitted he was jet-lagged.

Then again, that is what dizzying success on the back of a viral Coachella appearance in April can do for you. It unlocks reserves you did not know you had and on Thursday it powered a Middle East debut that was both fun and sweet.

Benson Boone doing his signature flips on stage. Victor Besa / The National

Backed by a four-piece band and clad in an all-red racing outfit, Boone's appearance made the younger fans scream like they were witnessing the second coming – albeit the male version – of Taylor Swift.

For the more mature among us, there was some Freddie Mercury in there, too, in the way Boone, 23, stood up straight in front of the mic, one finger directing a thousand-yard smile into the crowd.

And there was also a hint of Killers frontman Brandon Flowers, who headlined the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix on the same stage six years ago, with a marvel of a voice that can be bombastic and tender in the same song.

Boone thrilled fans with a marvel of a voice that can be both bombastic and tender in the same song. Victor Besa / The National

Beginning with I Wanna be the One you Call, a breezy rock-pop track that wastes no time in displaying Boone’s high register, the soaring chorus was lapped up by fans, who sang along just as earnestly as he did.

Wanted Man was more punchy, with its strutting bassline and panting background vocals undercut by Boone’s crystalline falsetto. By the time Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else arrived, the show had achieved lift-off - a zippy, synth-fuelled track with its giddy melodies.

All this underlines how acutely Boone understands the modern pop concert landscape – a space built on shows that are big, physical, generous, varied and packed with moments. It's the same environment driving Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Chris Brown’s Breezy Bowl XX tour and Katy Perry’s The Lifetimes Tour, the latter returning as the Sunday after-race headliner.

Despite being jet-lagged, the American singer was full of energy on stage. Victor Besa / The National

There is also an inherent kindness in how he speaks to fans, a softness in the way he frames his stories between songs that cuts through the physicality of the show.

He shifted to the piano for Beautiful Things midway through, and the vocals were on point even after the incessant flips and running across the stage.

What the night also made clear is that some songs on his album, American Heart, work far better live than they do on record. On the album, certain tracks lean too heavily into syncopation and production polish, sometimes sounding a little too in love with their own sheen.

Live, Boone lifts some of these songs almost by sheer force of will. Man In Me, which feels too cloying on record, becomes this startling epic on stage. Mystical Magical, which sounds over-caffeinated on record, turns into something playful and vibrant live.

Benson Boone fans at the show. Victor Besa / The National

It leaves you thinking about his potential. If he eventually pairs that physicality and those thrilling vocals with the right producers, someone like Swedish super-producer Max Martin, who helped take Swift’s songs into blockbuster pop territory, the results could be frighteningly good. Boone has the raw ingredients to go much further, and while peers Bruno Mars and Harry Styles can rest easy for now, that comfort may not last for long.

The Abu Dhabi F1 after-race concert series continues with rapper Post Malone and Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna co-headlining on Friday, heavy metal behemoths Metallica on Saturday, and concludes on Sunday with pop star Perry.

Access to all concerts is exclusive to Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix ticket holders.