LEWIS CAPALDI

from What's On Dubai - November 2022

DISCOVER DOHA

THE CAPALDI COMEBACK

Heartfelt Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi returns to the UAE

It’s time to warm up your vocal cords as the king of modern-day ballads, Lewis Capaldi, is returning to the UAE on November 28. After performing in both Sharjah and Abu Dhabi’s F1 After-Race Concert, this will be the Scottish singer-songwriter’s first show in Dubai, when he’ll be taking over the Coca-Cola Arena.

Famous for his outlandish Instagram stories, hilariously posing in various costumes, and writing some really great tunes, Lewis Capaldi shot to fame in 2017, when his first track Bruises made him the fastest selling unsigned artist to amass 25 million plays on Spotify.

Capaldi’s stage career began at age four, when on a holiday to France, he took part in a talent show and sang Queen’s We Are the Champions. From there his selfconfessed ‘love of attention’ propelled him into learning guitar and practicing his singing and song writing. His

“AT AGE 13 HE AUDITIONED FOR BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT, WHICH HE WAS REJECTED FROM BEFORE REACHING THE TV ROUNDS.”

popularity in Scotland grew as he played more live gigs and open mic nights around his area. At age 13 he auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent, which he was rejected from before reaching the TV rounds.

When Capaldi was 18, he was discovered by his long-term manager, Ryan Walter, via an iPhone recording uploaded to his SoundCloud account. After the success of Bruises, Capaldi’s breakthrough single Someone You Loved charted in 29 countries in early 2019, spending seven weeks at number one in the UK chart. His debut album Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent followed in May, which became the best-selling album in the UK in five years, spending five weeks at number one in its first six weeks of release.

Capaldi has been a little quiet on social media this year, after announcing he would take a break to focus on his next album. His return to our phone screens came off the back of the release of his new single Forget Me, which was released on September 9. His upcoming second album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, is set to be released on May 19, 2023. While we’ll have to wait a while to hear all the new tracks, we’re still excited to belt out some classic Capaldi songs at Coca-Cola Arena on November 28.

Tickets start from Dhs199 for bronze, Dhs279 for silver and Dhs399 for gold or golden circle. coca-cola-arena.com

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: IDRISS B

Meet the sculptor adding life and colour to Dubai’s streets

Over the past two years, the work of artist and sculptor Idriss B has become synonymous with Dubai’s cityscape. Parisianborn, Dubai-based Idriss B is renowned for his eccentric

Idriss B talks us through his creative practice which starts with extensive research to accurately reflect the character of the animal, including facial expression, stance, size, and colour. Then, a sketch followed by 3D printing and from there he will make a clay mould. Depending on the size of the project, this process usually takes around five months.

Those interested in buying a sculpture for themselves can create a custom piece on Idriss B’s website. Collectors can expect to pay between Dhs100k and Dhs150k for a metre-high bear named Baloo, or Dhs50k to Dhs70k for a tabletop version of a crocodile called Dundee. Previous high-profile clients of the contemporary artist include Lindsay Lohan, Akon, Snoop Dogg, and Ja Rule.

Dubai’s booming art scene has been a great platform for Idriss B who has continued to gain popularity around the globe with an exhibition in New York featuring his most recent project, a t-rex, showcased on Park Avenue. What’s next? Idriss B teased upcoming collaborations we must look forward to, including a project with NusrEt (otherwise known as Salt Bae), a luxury yacht company, and a jewellery brand. @idrissbcom

style, impressive collaborations, and vibrant polygonal animalshaped structures.

When you think of the artist, maybe it’s the flying gorilla being helicoptered through Dubai Marina that first springs to mind, or the turtles of Jumeirah Al Naseem, or the extraordinary falcon overlooking Atlantis, The Palm.

Idriss B has shown an interest in art since childhood, working as a visual merchandiser for luxury brands, including Dior, Moncler, and Louis Vuitton for over a decade. But it wasn’t until moving to Dubai that he was inspired to create his own sculptures, launching The Art Collection in 2015, with the gorilla, Mojo.

“It is the daily life that inspires me the most: the mix between cultures, the technology, and the nature that is all over Dubai, between the sea on the Palm, the desert, and the mountains, it is truly this mix of everything and that is what makes it so special and interesting to me,” he told What’s On. The UAE Golden Visaawarded artist aims to evoke different emotions and feelings with each animal sculpture, hoping the public relate and recognise parts of themselves in each piece.