If you noticed Toronto was a bit louder and a bit crazier this week, it was probably because the British-Irish boy band, One Direction, was in town. The boys played two sold out shows at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on May 29th and 31st and THE MAGAZINE was there to catch all the action.
First on stage was up-and-coming pop singer Manika. She sang songs off her new EP, ‘The Middle of Hollywood’, including “Just Can’t Let You Go” (featuring Young Money’s Lil Twist) and her latest catchy single “Good Girls”.
Next was hot British act Olly Murs, who placed second on the sixth season of The X Factor UK. He performed songs off both of his full-length albums, including fan favourites “Oh My Goodness,” “Dance With Me Tonight” and “Heart Skips a Beat.”
As the lights went down for One Direction, the noise level went way up. The boys opened with “Na Na Na” and the energy didn’t stop for the full 90-minute set. There were a set of songs for each of four ‘events’ – Summer Hols, Autumn Term, Winter Season and The Celebration Dinner – with videos to introduce each theme (and also to cover time for costume changes.)
They performed songs off their album ‘Up All Night’ including “Gotta Be You”, “One Thing” and, the song that started it all, “What Makes You Beautiful”, as well as several covers including “Stereo Hearts” and “Valerie”.
A highlight of the show was the performance of their song “Moments”, co-written by fellow British singer Ed Sheeran. The beautiful song talks about the heartbreak of losing a loved one and its emotions really come out in the live performance.
All the boys had to do was whisper sweet words and melodies in every girl’s ear and they succeeded. Whatever the song, everyone was on their feet singing along and screaming out cries of love for the band members.
One Direction got very interactive with the crowd when they took Twitter questions on stage. For example, a fan asked them to imitate each other and they did just that. Also, during the Winter Season set, the boys had a snowball fight with the crowd.
If you went to the show, I hope you brought extra cash because $40 t-shirts, $25 tote bags and tour programs and $15 bracelets were selling fast.
If you missed One Direction this time around, don’t fret. The guys will be back in Toronto performing two shows at the Air Canada Centre on July 9th and 10th, 2013.
One Direction is only going in one direction – up.