The appeal of an English singer-songwriter is universal. Perhaps it’s the catchy, radio–friendly lyrics, or the sappy romantic words everyone just loves to use as Instagram captions.

 Regardless, Sheeran’s appeal is certain once you step foot inside one of his concerts.

 Held at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Central Jakarta, on Friday evening, Sheeran’s Jakarta concert was part of his Divide Tour, which has been running since 2017.

 Perhaps then it came as no surprise when tickets sold out quickly, as Indonesians had been clamoring for Sheeran’s Jakarta concert in 2017 — which was canceled due to injuries he sustained in a bike accident.

 The concert on Friday also marked the end of the tour’s Asia leg, so that provided an extra incentive for those not wanting to take a flight to Europe for the last leg.

 Even before the show started, the energy was palpable, which makes it quite silly when you enter the stadium and you see the steel chairs with red fabric cushioning like the ones you see at school functions.

Granted, no one’s going to jump and thrash around wildly to, say, “Thinking Out Loud”, but it does feel out of place, especially with the energetic opening act from Japanese band One OK Rock.

Fronted by lead vocalist Takahiro Moriuchi, the band’s opening song “Push Back” had the crowd pumped up, though not so much with subsequent songs that were more hardcore, particularly with the older and younger concertgoers looking around as if confirming they were in the right venue.

Still, One OK Rock’s performance dazzled many in the stadium with their short 45-minute set, and cries of “we want more” went unanswered as the band quickly left for backstage so that the stagehands could prepare for Sheeran’s set.

Sheeran himself sauntered onto the stage casually; no big bands, no backup dancers, no bells and whistles. Just a man from Framlingham, east Suffolk, and his guitar, playing to sold-out stadiums across the world.

Enthusiastic cheers from the crowd turned into impromptu singalongs with the opening song “Castle on the Hill”, an ode to his hometown and the memories he made there, rose-tinted glasses and all.

Maybe this is what Sheeran’s fans find endearing about him, the down-to-earth sensibility and relatableness. It’s how he’d speak to crowds in a foreign land just like an old friend, sincerely apologizing for canceling the 2017 concert before moving onto something more upbeat like the rapesque “Eraser”.

Sheeran also talked to his audience between songs and this is where that relatableness shone, talking about how he didn’t think that he’d found success outside his country. The choice of “Eraser” was also quite significant, as it talks about the reflections on the road to fame.

 Also on the set list were some of Sheeran’s past hits, not necessarily from his most recent album, like his debut single “The A Team”.

 Along with its dreamy, contemplative lyrics that camouflage a serious topic, “The A Team” as performed also showcased Sheeran’s mastery over the crowd. His request for anyone having a source of light to wave during the song was met with the light of tens of thousands of phones illuminating the stadium, steadily swaying as Sheeran sang about a cocaine-addicted prostitute, hauntingly beautiful as if in a vigil.

 Sheeran’s repertoire for the concert was very much his greatest hits, from the more fast-paced pop tunes like “Don’t” meshed with “New Man” to the mellower lovey-dovey like “Photograph” and “Perfect”.

 While he is primarily known for his singing, Sheeran is also a prominent songwriter, responsible for hits ranging from Little Mix’s “Woman Like Me” featuring Nicki Minaj to BTS’ “Make It Right”. So it should have been no surprise that Sheeran would also cover one of them, but the choice of “Love Yourself” as sung by Justin Bieber felt like an instant crowd favorite.

 Some of Sheeran’s cheekiness was also present, like how he told the crowd that “if [they] don’t know the words to [the next] song, [they’re] at the wrong concert”. Sure enough, the following song was “Thinking Out Loud”, a crowd favorite and a perennial fixture of romantic playlists everywhere.

 The supposedly last song of the night was the lively “Sing” before Sheeran retired backstage, conspicuously leaving his record-breaking hit “Shape of You” — the current most streamed song on Spotify and the best-selling song of 2017. 

The fake-out has become a predictable tactic for concerts lately, but what’s not predictable was Sheeran stepping out again for “Shape of You” and true finale song “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” wearing Indonesia’s national soccer jersey, gleaming white with the Pancasila emblem emblazoned on the front.

 It might be a simple costume change to appease local crowds, but the choice of nationalistic clothing with “Shape of You” felt very much a cheeky shade throwing against the West Java branch of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission’s decision to limit the song’s airtime along with 16 other English-language songs in February. 

Suggestive? Yes, but “Shape of You” is very much a chart-topper, and the roar of the Jakarta crowd showed that progressive metropolitan Indonesians will not be cowed by censorship.

 Still, “Shape of You” was performed at approximately 10 p.m., so you can’t say that Sheeran was being disrespectful.

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