Harry Styles kicks off Australian tour with two very Aussie additions

Harry Styles kicked off his huge Australian tour in Perth last night, having made two very Aussie additions to the show.

Harry Styles on stage in Perth.

Pop superstar Harry Styles kicked off his Australian stadium tour in Perth overnight with that most unhygienic of Aussie customs – the shoey.

And it appears Styles has also made a new addition to his setlist for the Australian leg of the tour, adding one of this country’s most enduring songs to his encore.

Footage from last night’s show at Perth’s HBF Park shows the former One Direction star guzzling liquid out of his own shoe, as fans cheered him on.

Harry Styles drinks out of his shoe at his concert in Australia as part of a tradition. pic.twitter.com/wS44f8T1L8

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 20, 2023

This is one of the most disgusting traditions I’ve ever…” Styles told the crowd before he drank from the shoe.

“This is one of the most disgusting traditions I’ve ever…”@Harry_Styles does a shoey at his first Love on Tour Australian concert in Perth pic.twitter.com/FXkXe1bsZZ

— Syan Vallance (@SyanVallance) February 20, 2023

Requests for a visiting international artist to do a “shoey” have become a regular fixture of Australian concerts in recent years, with some artists obliging – and others refusing.

Post Malone was the latest big star to do a shoey onstage, also at a Perth concert earlier this month.

Country-pop star Kacey Musgraves memorably told a Sydney audience during her 2019 tour that she would not be heeding their demands: “That’s disgusting. I’m not f**king drinking out of your shoe,” she told them.

Harry Styles onstage in Perth last night.

He doesn’t look like he’s enjoying that.

Harry Styles on stage at Perth’s HBF Park. Picture: Backgrid

Styles’ Australian tour comes amid a golden period for the singer, first discovered on the UK X Factor back in 2010. From those humble beginnings, he just took out the coveted Album of the Year award at both this year’s Grammys and Brit Awards for his third solo album Harry’s House.

And Styles’ concert setlist was heavy on that album, with 11 of its 13 tracks performed in Perth last night. One Direction fans got just one song from his former band – the global smash That’s What Makes You Beautiful – while there was also a new addition to the setlist for the Australian leg of the tour: A cover of The Horses, the classic Rickie Lee Jones song famously covered by Daryl Braithwaite in 1991 and turned into an unofficial Australian anthem.

Daryl Braithwaite’s ‘The Horses’, performed by Harry Styles, live from HBF Park. #LoveOnTourPerth
20.2.23

🎥: fairylightselio
pic.twitter.com/4ynXySFz4l

— HL Daily On Tour (@HLDTour) February 20, 2023

Fans wait for their night with Harry. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Philip Gostelow

Earlier, there were chaotic scenes as hardcore fans waited in blistering heat for many hours before doors opened to get the best spots inside the stadium. Fans had been banned from camping out the night before.

Styles’ Australian tour continues on Friday with the first of two shows at Melbourne’s Marvel stadium, before moving to the Gold Coast and Sydney. Fellow recent Grammy and Brit-winners Wet Leg support Styles on all dates.

Harry Styles’ Perth setlist:

Music for a Sushi Restaurant

Golden

Adore You

Daylight

Cinema

Keep Driving

Woman

Matilda

Little Freak

Satellite

Daydreaming

Treat People With Kindness

What Makes You Beautiful

Late Night Talking

Watermelon Sugar

Love of My Life

Encore:

Sign of the Times

Horses (Daryl Braithwaite cover)

As It Was

Kiwi

Originally published as Harry Styles kicks off Australian tour with two very Aussie additions