For months now, Abu Dhabi has been gearing up for a proper knees up over the F1 weekend. The question is whether the tens of thousands of people here to party really want a dose of Sam Smith's teary, seductive pop on a Saturday night.
Mr Smith understands this. "I know my music is a little depressing," he said soon after arriving on stage at the Du Arena. But on the evidence of the opening two songs, the answer seems to be that, yes, this is exactly what Abu Dhabi wants. Very much so, in fact.
Mr Smith, dressed in white T shirt and grey suit, opened with One Last Song and I'm Not the Only One and the crowd responded by screaming every word right back at him. There's a lot of love here for the man on stage, who is tonight performing the last show of a 100-date tour.
I've seen Mr Smith before when his vocals have been lost to poor acoustics or an over-zealous backing band. Not tonight. He's in fine voice - and so is everyone inside the Du Arena.
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