I went to the Michael Buble concert expecting the Canadian singer to belt out his on-brand love songs, a few covers and regale audiences with stories of how he wrote some of his most popular hits. What I did not expect was a show punctuated with jokes, one of the best backing bands I’ve heard, and to come out a bigger Buble fan than when I went in.
The artist performed in the UAE capital on Thursday as part of the Saadiyat Nights concert series. The star-studded line-up of musicians performing in an open-air custom-built amphitheatre is back for a second year.
Performing to an almost-packed venue, Buble was generous in his praise for and love for the UAE capital. “Welcome to the very first annual Buble concert, Abu Dhabi. Every single year, I am going to be here again and again … except no one has invited me yet,” he said as cheers from the audience soon turned into uproarious laughter.
“But seriously, this place is like Disneyland for adults. This is a beautiful city. We’ve been sitting on the beaches, we’ve watched Gazelles go by. This morning my wife said she saw sharks in the water, they were dolphins, but still.”
Dressed in a black suit, the Canadian crooner made a dramatic entrance as his band was playing a piece that hit a crescendo when he broke out into a rendition on Feeling Good, originally sung by Cy Grant in 1964 and then by Nina Simone in 1965.
“We are going to sing some of the greatest songs ever written, some of them by me,” he joked.
“This night is going to be magical,” he continued. “It’s been a while since I’ve done a show here. I’ve brought the greatest musicians, and there hasn’t been a lot of rehearsal, so it’s going to be loose.”
A magical night it was, but the band was far from loose. Featuring members that played trumpet, saxophone, guitar, piano and drums, they were as much the stars of the night as Buble.
From unexpectedly singing the chorus while Buble performed When You’re Smiling to trumpet player Jumani Smith taking centre stage to play a solo piece and sing Dean Martin’s You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You, the collective seamlessly transitioned from smooth jazz to pop to briefly providing rock riffs to otherwise slow songs.
But, of course, Buble was who the audience came to see, and he delivered. Charismatic and playful, the singer performed a mix of some of his most popular hits, including Home, Quando, Quando, Quando and Everything, and covers of tracks such as Sway, Love, Fly Me to the Moon and Me and Mrs Jones. He effortlessly moved between the genres and encouraged the audience to sing along.
“This is so nice and intimate. How magic is this,” he said to the audience of almost 5,000. “It’s impossible to not get emotional when standing here feeling the love. Nothing tells me that you love me when I see you kill your iPhone batteries for me. I just cost you time looking at TikToks and Reels, but you love me, and I love you too. I would kill all my phone batteries for you,” he joked, before moving on to one of the evening highlights.
Buble dedicated the next segment to “the king” Elvis Presley. Emulating the storied performer’s lip curl, he performed Fever to Trouble and Burning Love, before turning the tempo down for the classic Can’t Help Falling in Love.
Supported by stunning visuals in the background, the production felt modern, even though a lot of the songs Buble performed were retro hits. Backed by a stellar band and a trio of vocalists, Buble delivered an evening of great music where it was apparent that, for many, staying seated was the biggest challenge of the night.
Here’s hoping Buble concerts become an annual event after all.
January 24: Leningrad
The Russian rockers are playing in the UAE capital for the first time. The high energy gig will feature Sergey Shnurov and the rest of the 14-strong group performing their best-known hits. Tickets start at Dh200.
January 25: Boyz II Men
The old-school crooners will take the stage for a night of nostalgia. Fans can expect a soulful evening from the R&B harmony group. Tickets start at Dh175.
February 1: Omar Khairat
The Egyptian singer will perform a collection of his enchanting and original symphonies. Tickets start at Dh250.
February 15: Christina Aguilera
The American singer is returning to the UAE capital for the first time in 17 years. Tickets are sold out.
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
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LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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