Harry Styles goes big at Little Caesars Arena

Harry Styles is no stranger to big crowds in Detroit.

The British singer (and actor) did, after all, play to three straight sold-out houses at Ford Field with One Direction during the 2010s, and his 2018 solo show at Little Caesars Arena was another big draw. But Styles’ return to LCA on Monday night, Sept. 20, pushed things up another notch.

North of 18,000 fans — overwhelmingly female, a majority wrapped in boas and other customized attire — packed into the arena for the show, the first at LCA to require masks as well as proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative tests. Abetted by in-the-round staging and a general-admission floor, Styles set a new concert record at the venue, beating out Mumford & Sons’ 2019 appearance, another in-the-round extravaganza.

The 27-year-old Styles took it all in stride, genial and energetic throughout the 95-minute performance — and sharply dressed in a red shirt and glittery blue trousers held up by suspenders. Though a bit hoarse, visibly and audibly battling some minor throat irritation, he appeared to be having as good a time as anyone else in the building and took time to make some personal connections. Before “Canyon Moon,” he led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to a fan named Amanda, who brandished a sign declaring it was her 16th-birthday.

Then during “What Makes You Beautiful,” the show’s only One Direction song, he celebrated a couple’s engagement taking place on the arena floor in front of him. “I’m gonna cry,” he said between lyrics. And Styles clearly knew where he was playing; “Did you know Detroit is home to the first four-way, three-color traffic light in the country?” he told the crowd — more than once, with a smirk.

“At one point during this next song,” Styles said before closing his main set with the title track from his 2019 album “Fine Line,” “please take a moment to remember a time when we couldn’t do this, and how special it is to all be in this room here tonight.” He went on to thank the fans “for doing everything you did to be here tonight,” adding, “This is my favorite thing in the world, and I’ve missed you so much.”

He and his white-clad, six-member band (three women, three men) made up for lost time over the course of the show’s 17 songs, drawing primarily from the critically acclaimed “Fine Line” with all but one of the album’s 12 tracks. Coming on after a winning opening set by Jenny Lewis, Styles reveled in the mature pop sophistication he’s pursued on his two solo albums, maintaining a boy-band charisma while exploring the soulful textures of “Adore You,” “Lights Up” and “She,” the psychedelic flavors of “Sunflower, Vol. 6,” the light funk of “Canyon Moon” and the exuberance of “Treat People With Kindness.”

Styles torqued things up on rockers such as “Only Angel” and “Kiwi” and added a phatter bottom to “Woman,” while “Watermelon Sugar” featured an extended opening vamp and a restrained arrangement that built into an ecstatic finish.

“Harry’s vibe is so right. … It’s just what we need,” opener Lewis told the crowd during her set, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who disagreed with that Monday at LCA. Just one of One Direction, it seems, is enough — at least if it’s Styles and his rapidly growing artistry.