In a blue, flowing top and wide-legged white pants, Styles hit the stage to the sound of piercing screams from the crowd, which was easily 95 percent to 97 percent female. The album was released 13 months ago, giving it time to sink in before Tuesday's performance, part of a North American tour that wraps up next month. The classic rock comparison befits Styles, whose debut album forgoes club music trends of the day and harkens back to a '70s-style singer-songwriter, er, style, if you forgive the pun.
But his stage presence Tuesday was broader and more primal than it was in his boy-band past, and he exuded a swaggy charisma reminiscent of a British rock god 50 years his elder: Mick Jagger. Styles, who debuted in One Direction when he was 16, clearly learned how to work and move a crowd during his 1D days.
