James Arthur was recently in Malaysia for his Southeast Asia tour where he performed 19 songs in Zepp Kuala Lumpur. While he initially expected a “chill night” out, the 35-year-old vocalist was pleasantly surprised by the energy from his Malaysian fans.
“This is the best crowd I’ve played for.” Those were his words, not ours. True enough, those who showed up at Zepp on Sunday night knew every song he sang and almost all the lyrics to his setlist. Towards the end of show, James even expressed his desire to return and perform in a big stadium for his next concert.
It was 8:40pm, the lights dimmed and out walked James Arthur and his band members (whom he calls his closest friends). They kicked off the show with “You’re Nobody til Somebody Loves You”, followed by “Blindside”, “Falling Like the Stars”, and “Empty Space”. During the concert, the soulful artist also got the audience to sing along during popular covers such as “Rewrite the Stars” and “A Thousand Years” – which he quipped that the Christina Perri song is a challenging number to deliver vocally.
Having said that, the loudest cheers were reserved for the singer’s own discography – including “Train Wreck”, “Naked”, and “September”. It was amazing to see how many people have been fans since James for “The X Factor UK” in 2012. His winning single (a Shontelle cover) of “Impossible” remains one of his most successful singles to date. Of course, fans who were anticipating the smash hit “Say You Won’t Let Go” got what they wanted – and then some – when he concluded the concert on a high note.
In his recap video, James Arthur cited that his experience in Kuala Lumpur was “emotional” – likely due to the overwhelming response from his Malaysian fans at the concert. We love the part where James had to excuse himself to pee towards the end of the concert (someone actually recorded it!) and his funny take on channeling David Attenborough.
Now excuse us while we hit the replay button.
