hearaldsun.com.au
George Michael delights 45,000 fans at Sydney show
MELBURNIANS with George Michael tickets can breathe a sigh of relief - he is a superstar who can deliver live in concert.
There are no disclaimers, excuses or disappointments.
Indeed Michael's Sydney show last night automatically set the bar skyhigh for this year's pop concerts.
The lengthy show ticks all the boxes. Firstly it looks incredible - the immense stage and mammoth video screens are state of the art and purpose-built for a stadium.
But it was that voice and those song fans have waited since 1988 to see back in action in Australia.
And while Michael has hardly been a saint over the years, his voice still provides instant goosebumps.
'It's been 22 years, I'm going to try and make it up to you tonight,'' Michael told the sold out crowd of 45,000. ''You all look so good, plenty of sunshine and sex I reckon.''
The setlist is extraordinary - from Fastlove to Wham!'s I'm Your Man to 80s anthem Father Figure - and they're the opening three songs.
Michael introduced Wham!'s Everything She Wants by stating ''Who remembers 1984? We all have a lot less hair and a lot more experience.''
Those songs are sadly as far as the singer delves into the Wham! catalogue, although the huge screems play a montage of their iconic 80s videos.
The perfectionist has always surrounded himself with the finest musicians and vocalist and this tour is no different - the band sounding as impressive on the gorgeously bare ballad A Different Corner to the disco-driven Too Funky and Outside.
Meanwhile hearing Careless Whisper, one of the best ballads ever written, was almost worth the price of admission alone.
George Michael plays Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
There are no disclaimers, excuses or disappointments.
Indeed Michael's Sydney show last night automatically set the bar skyhigh for this year's pop concerts.
The lengthy show ticks all the boxes. Firstly it looks incredible - the immense stage and mammoth video screens are state of the art and purpose-built for a stadium.
But it was that voice and those song fans have waited since 1988 to see back in action in Australia.
And while Michael has hardly been a saint over the years, his voice still provides instant goosebumps.
'It's been 22 years, I'm going to try and make it up to you tonight,'' Michael told the sold out crowd of 45,000. ''You all look so good, plenty of sunshine and sex I reckon.''
The setlist is extraordinary - from Fastlove to Wham!'s I'm Your Man to 80s anthem Father Figure - and they're the opening three songs.
Michael introduced Wham!'s Everything She Wants by stating ''Who remembers 1984? We all have a lot less hair and a lot more experience.''
Those songs are sadly as far as the singer delves into the Wham! catalogue, although the huge screems play a montage of their iconic 80s videos.
The perfectionist has always surrounded himself with the finest musicians and vocalist and this tour is no different - the band sounding as impressive on the gorgeously bare ballad A Different Corner to the disco-driven Too Funky and Outside.
Meanwhile hearing Careless Whisper, one of the best ballads ever written, was almost worth the price of admission alone.
George Michael plays Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
news.co.auBreaking news - George Michael outdoes the divas in Sydney FIRST Britney disappointed, then Whitney did.
But George Michael broke the run of bad "comeback tours'', winning over more than 40,000 fans at the Sydney Football Stadium tonight.
When Michael sings I won't let you down' at the start of his hit Freedom, he delivers on his promise.
Taking to the stage 40 minutes late thanks to extreme traffic congestion around the inner-city venue, Michael was given a hero's welcome.
Dressed head to toe in black, the former Wham! singer opened with Fast Love.
"Good evening Sydney, are you ready for a good night?'' he said. "It's been 22 years.''
He then launched into crowd favourite I'm Your Man and Father Figure.
While divas like Britney Spears and Whitney Houston left some fans wanting their money back during their recent performances, Michael sang live, hit all his notes and whipped up a party for faithful followers.
It is Michael's first Australian tour since his Faith tour in 1988.
He opened his 2010 tour in Perth last weekend and will play in Melbourne on March 3.
``You still look so...good, I don't get it - plenty of sunshine and sex I reckon,'' he said.
George Michael has enjoyed one of the most successful and enduring careers in pop music, selling more than a 100 million records globally.
He has notched up six US number one singles, 11 British number one singles, a Grammy award, three American Music Awards, an MTV Video Music award and two Ivor Novello awards for song writing.
He recently was declared the most played British artist on radio over the last 20 years.
The Sydney Morning Herald :-Wham, bam, thank you, man
THE artist on the stage is 46 years old, was huge in the '80s and hasn't done badly since, despite the occasional indiscretion with drugs and the law.
We could be talking about another artist who played in Sydney this week – only this one can still sing, with or without the help of his backing singers, he can still swivel his hips without looking like a sad old man (isn't Tom Jones in town?) and he even wrote most of these slick pop-soul songs.
There are sparkling tunes from just about every period of George Michael's near-30-year career and even the new ones that few know well sound pretty good.
The older, bigger hits that people do know, meanwhile, are terrific – as much because it's the first chance we've had to hear him play them in 22 years as the fact they're genuinely timeless songs.
Suave upbeat tunes to which you can dance? Fastlove and Too Funky sort everyone out there. Heartfelt ballads to which you can shed a tear while you gaze lovingly at your date? Take your pick from A Different Corner or One More Try. Ancient Wham! hits that sound far better now than, er, you dared admit at the time? Welcome back Everything She Wants and I'm Your Man.
There's even a 20-minute interval so you can go and get a drink while the star has a deserved break to recharge after a solid hour's entertaining.
Someone make sure Whitney gets to see this show while she's in town.
We could be talking about another artist who played in Sydney this week – only this one can still sing, with or without the help of his backing singers, he can still swivel his hips without looking like a sad old man (isn't Tom Jones in town?) and he even wrote most of these slick pop-soul songs.
There are sparkling tunes from just about every period of George Michael's near-30-year career and even the new ones that few know well sound pretty good.
The older, bigger hits that people do know, meanwhile, are terrific – as much because it's the first chance we've had to hear him play them in 22 years as the fact they're genuinely timeless songs.
Suave upbeat tunes to which you can dance? Fastlove and Too Funky sort everyone out there. Heartfelt ballads to which you can shed a tear while you gaze lovingly at your date? Take your pick from A Different Corner or One More Try. Ancient Wham! hits that sound far better now than, er, you dared admit at the time? Welcome back Everything She Wants and I'm Your Man.
There's even a 20-minute interval so you can go and get a drink while the star has a deserved break to recharge after a solid hour's entertaining.
Someone make sure Whitney gets to see this show while she's in town.
