Enrique Iglesias was everybody’s hero on Friday night as he closed the 2017 edition of the Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz Festival.
He was the one everyone wanted to see and an obvious high-energy choice to round off another year of big performances, after Tom Jones and Mariah Carey.
British singer Nathan Sykes warmed up the crowd for the Spanish pop star with songs from his debut album, Unfinished Business, including Kiss Me Quick, More Than You'll Ever Know and Give It Up.
The 23-year-old, a former member of boy band The Wanted, seemed more at ease on the piano than away from it, but he knew the job he had to do and delivered, even throwing in a cover of Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud before wrapping up his set with Famous.
“Going on before someone like Enrique, it’s my responsibility to make sure every one of you is singing along at the top of your voice. Are you all warmed up?” he asked.
They were – although Iglesias made them wait more than 20 minutes past his scheduled performance start time before taking to the stage. The full-of-energy Spanish singer made up for it using his trademark charm and songbook packed with sure-fire hits.
While the set-list and format of this show was not too different from his previous UAE outing, at the 2015 Formula One After Race concert in Abu Dhabi, the Jazz Fest crowd didn’t lack any enthusiasm for the charismatic 41-year-old. As the lights dimmed and the amped-up beats kicked in, cries of “Enrique, Enrique” filled the air inside the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre.
Iglesias finally burst onto the stage just before 11pm, to the sound of his smash-hit Pitbull collaboration, I'm a Freak.
"Dubai raise up," the King of Latin Pop yelled, to which the crowd responded. Hands were in the air, phones too – and that is where they stayed as the multiplatinum artist continued with up-tempo tracks I Like How It Feels, Spanish favourite Duele el Corazon and Heartbeat.
Crowd-pleaser Bailamos harked back to the beginning of Iglesias's career. His 1998 global breakthrough track had the same effect as it had in the capital, with diehard fans falling over themselves to get a selfie with the star as he jumped off the stage into the crowd.
Perhaps the most meaningful exchange of the night came when Iglesias invited Faisal, from Saudi Arabia, up from the fan-pit front row for some "onstage karaoke" to the Ben E King classic, Stand by Me. "We're going to karaoke," Iglesias said cheekily, "and I'm the worst in the world at karaoke".
The loveable star, who unveiled a new video clip to the world the same day, took photos and video of his new friend and spent several minutes letting him shine.
It was a feel-good moment that Faisal will no doubt be replaying this morning and for many years to come.
Iglesias, the son of music legend Julio, didn’t miss a beat during his 17-song 105-minute set. He cradled young children in his arms, bashed at the drums alongside his bandmates, and ran up and down the stage, proving that after a 23-year career, he’s still got the energy and pizzazz he had when he exploded on to the Latin-music scene in 1999.
Saving the best for last, as drops of rain began to fall, Iglesias launched into Tonight I'm Loving You. It was an apt way to close the show. But that wasn't the end – he returned for three encores, each time with as much energy as the time before, performing tracks El Perdon, Bailando and I Like It.
It was his final appearance of the evening, however, that surprised everyone – except those who were at the F1 gig – as the Spaniard appeared on a small stage at the back, in front of the VIP boxes, from where he performed a singalong version of his ballad, Hero, before bidding his Dubai fans farewell.
And as the crowd swayed and balloons floated across the sky, organisers must have been thinking, we did it again.
mhealy@thenational.ae
