One Direction mania spilled into central Brisbane on Wednesday, as the boy-band from Britain closed their mini-tour of Australia with a show that sent its female audience into a teary, screaming frenzy.
To say 1D is the hottest boy-band on the scene, doesn't quite grasp the situation. "On fire" is closer to the mark. The five "X-Factor" U.K. alumni -- Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik - are scorching sales charts and box offices around the globe.
ONE DIRECTION FAN?
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The picture is the same Down Under, where the group's debut "Up All Night" is double-platinum certified and is sitting at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart for a second week. Their debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful" is currently four-times platinum, one of the group's two tracks in the Australian top-10.
Wednesday was the last of four east coast dates, the lads having earlier visited Sydney (twice) and Melbourne. They've only one album of material to their name, but tonight they squeezed out an 80-minute set, padded-out with a few covers and some confident, well-rehearsed banter.
At the top of the show, a visual of beaches and summer fun warmed the stage before One Direction leapt into "Na Na Na," "Stand Up" and "I Wish." Three songs in, and the group got to working covers, from Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" to "Torn," a track made famous by Natalie Imbruglia in the late '90s and more recently when the group tackled it on X-Factor back in 2010.
"Being in Australia keeps getting better and better," Louis told the screaming masses, before informing them that he'd been in the surf that morning. If Louis had mentioned what he'd had for breakfast, that too would have been met with deafening squeals.
There was simply no way this group could fail.
Hysteria has followed them since they arrived in the country, and this concert served as a mass outpouring of delirium. The crowd, almost entirely comprised of teenage girls, was absolutely wired, fanatical. From the opening support act, the 5,000-plus capacity room created a noise so fierce, it would've drowned out most machines the industrial age came up with.
"You guys are loud," Harry told the audience. Earlier, opening act Justice Crew's E-man told the fans they were the noisiest of this tour. And they set out to prove it, time and again.
With the screaming came the tears. A lot of tears. The Convention Centre hasn't taken on so much water since the Brisbane floods of January 2011.
For 80 minutes, the young pop stars sang and twirled, and winked at their love-struck fans in the best seats. It was all slick, clean fun, the audience a colorful caldron of glowsticks and white "One Direction" t-shirts, lapped it all up. Some came kitted-out in British and Irish flags, others wielded signs. A 10-year-old hoisted one which read, "One Direction Marry Me," and another mid-teen vowed, "I'm only here because you stole my heart." None were more naughty than a sign up front, its young female owner having written, "I'll Give U 1 Erection."
The hits "One Thing" and "What Makes You Beautiful" came late in the set. After an encore of "I Want", showtime came to a halt at 10.15pm, not a bad result for a school night. The five reality-TV stars waved goodbye to their over-whelmed fans, promising a larger tour in 2013.
Next time, they'll need bigger venues. Tonight's show sold-out in just 50 seconds. If the date was held across town at the 12,000 capacity Brisbane Entertainment Centre, no doubt it would've gone in 60 seconds. Simon Cowell's hype machine is ticking away to perfection.
The group now move on to New Zealand, where they play Auckland on Saturday and Wellington on Sunday. When 1D rolls into an arena near you, just remember to bring your ear plugs.
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