Conor Maynard
Opening Acts: Blake Michael as DJ Blaze, Megan Nicole
November 25, 2012
Universal CityWalk LA
Universal City, CA
By: Nevra Azerkan
Rating:
[The Breakdown]
Blake Michael, from the Disney movie Lemonade Mouth and the band of the same name, was spinning under the moniker DJ Blaze. I can’t say that I was impressed with his set since he must have played a few songs at least twice. Let’s be real, if you have to play “Gangnam Style” more than once just to get the crowd moving then you need to change something. He was followed by Megan Nicole who is known from her YouTube videos. She was doing the best she could, but her sore throat caused her to end her show way earlier than scheduled. So lucky us, we got to hear Mr. Variety, DJ Blaze again.
Everyone was starting to get restless while waiting for Conor to come onstage. Conor Maynard is the newest UK artist to come to the U.S. He was a YouTube sensation who was discovered by Ne-Yo, who then took him under his wing. Three of his singles have reached the Top 10 on the UK Charts and his album debuted at #1. Many like to compare him to Justin Bieber because they are both young, got their start on YouTube and are both mentored by international superstars, but that’s where the comparison ends. Conor’s style is all his own and listening to a single song from him can tell you that.
Although Conor is just making his start in America, he had plenty of fans awaiting him when he took the stage. Fans that knew all of his songs and not just the covers he’s known to do. I absolutely loved his stage presence. He was really playful, but still had this chill demeanor 
about him. Throw in that voice of his and it is no wonder that all the girls were screaming their heads off.
I still can’t believe that this was a free show. I’m not complaining, but everyone there would have paid to see him. If not initially, they would have by the end of the concert. He performed a good number of tracks including (in no particular order): “Can’t Say No”, “Take Off”, “Diamonds” (Rihanna cover), “Starships” (Nicki Minaj cover), “Turn Around”, “Animal”, “This Christmas”, “Pictures”, “Mary Go Round”, and “Vegas Girl”.
To say he sounded just as good as his records would be an injustice. He exceeded my expectations which were high to begin with. I’m looking forward to his next release and catching him live again. With his debut album, Contrast, set to release in the U.S. on January 8, 2013, I have no doubt that we will be hearing a lot more from him in the future.
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