In 2022, it’s very rare to find a room with nearly 20,000 people, most of whom are teenage girls, singing along word for word to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
But upon hearing the opening vocal harmonies of the 1975 classic, the entire audience at Harry Styles’ “One Night Only in NY” show at the UBS Arena in Belmont Park on Friday night (May 20) erupted in song and shriek because they everyone knew it was the song the 28-year-old superstar plays at the venue before taking the stage.
In fact, Styles opened the door shortly after “Bohemian Rhapsody” and, appropriately, Frank Sinatra’s “(Theme From) New York, New York.” Harry’s househis third studio album, released less than 24 hours earlier.
As promised at the start of the set and just like he did for his 2019 year fine line Album release show in Los Angeles, Styles performed Harry’s house “the way it was meant to be heard, from start to finish” – plus of course a few cross-disc hits like “Adore You”, “Watermelon Sugar”, “Kiwi”, “Sign of the Times” and One Direction’s debut single “What Makes You”. Beautiful” (full set list below).
“Like the album so far?” Styles asked the audience politely halfway through the tracklist performance, and as expected, the huge hall greeted him with overwhelming approval. “Thank you God. I mean, I like it, but I’m very, very happy you’re liking it so far.”
The playful but heartwarming sense of appreciation ran like a thread through the night, typical of Styles shows. Throughout his career, the Grammy winner has never been shy about telling his devoted fans how much he loves them, and after three successful solo albums, his as well Harry’s house Release show was no different.
“For the last, however many years of my life, you’ve changed it over and over again,” he gushed to the crowd, wearing his heart (literally) on his sleeve in a white t-shirt covered in red hearts was. “I’m so thankful for each and every one of you who are here and for each and every one of you who aren’t here. Thank you all so, so, so much.”
“This album has saved me from almost everything for the last two and a half years,” he added.
To round out his set, Styles played his Harry’s house Lead single “As It Was” a second time, but the encore performance felt different. “You changed my life,” he told the crowd again before performing the song while smiling from ear to ear and dancing like 20,000 people weren’t watching. But 20,000 viewers saw a complete pop superstar at the peak of his career, proving that for former part-time bakery worker Harry Styles, “things just aren’t the way they used to be.”
If you missed the One Night Only in NY show in person or on the Apple Music exclusive live stream, fear not. The show will stream on Apple on May 22nd at 12pm ET and again on May 26th at 4pm BT. All you need is an Apple Music subscription to watch it for free.
Harry Styles’ One Night Only in NY set list
Music for a sushi restaurant
late night speeches
grape juice
How it was
daylight
Little geek
Mathilde
movie theater
daydreaming
Keep driving
satellite
friends
love of my life
adore you
watermelon sugar
sign of time
What makes you beautiful
kiwi
How it was (encore)
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