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By George! It's Ezra. Everything you need to know before tonight's concert

As the English crooner brings his distinctive melodic voice and catchy numbers to the Dubai World Trade Center tonight, we thought we'd bring you the lowdown on what to expect from George Ezra. He may have taken the world by storm, but who is he? What does he think about performing and how did he write his hit second album, Staying At Tamara's? Read on to find out.
What's he all about?
Despite reports, it's not all about live shows when it comes to modern acts. Of course ticket-sales count, but downloads and social media views remain large parts of an artist's armory. Ezra recently had the UK's biggest song of the summer according to the Official Charts Company. As well as occupying the number one spot in the UK charts, you haven't been able to listen to a radio the world over for more than five minutes without his single, Shotgun, making its presence felt. Its ridiculously catchy chorus and quirky video has amassed over 141 million Youtube views so far, shooting Ezra's second album, Staying at Tamara's, to number one in the UK album charts.      Possessing an unmistakably deep, bass-baritone voice, Ezra's approach to music has resonated. His live set list boasts songs such as Budapest, the platinum single Blame It On Me as well as the aforementioned Shotgun.
Where's he from?
Not that long ago a budding musician in Bristol, England, Ezra has gone on to demonstrate artistic maturity far beyond his 25 years to establish himself as one of the UK's most popular musical exports. His debut album Wanted on Voyage went four-times platinum in the UK, gold in the US, and was among the top 10 biggest selling albums in Britain in both 2014 and 2015, reaching number one in the Official UK Chart and spending 122 weeks in the chart overall.
What's he like?
The man himself is casual and laid back. In fact, he drew inspiration for Staying at Tamara's by doing just that: renting an Airbnb in Barcelona from a host named Tamara and allowing her artist friends to guide him through the city while he sketched out the song ideas. In March last year Ezra gave an interview with British commercial channel ITV. Speaking on the Lorraine morning show he said about the album: "I found a stranger (Tamara) on the Internet that was renting out a spare room. I wrote to my management to ask them to help me book it. I got three emails back saying, 'are you sure?' It wasn't until I landed I asked myself, 'why are you doing this?' All of her friends were artists and musicians and journalists. all creatives. They used her place as a HQ. It couldn't have been luckier." In the same interview Ezra stated he suffers from anxiety. "I spoke about it on the record and now I speak about it when I'm going out. Everything is too short not to. The more we do that (speak about mental health issues) the better it will be."
Did you know?
Ezra has supported acts including Robert Plant, Sam Smith and Bastille and the video for his 2014 single Listen To The Man featured Gandalf...okay, Sir Ian McKellen, lip-syncing to the track.
Podcaster extraordinaire
Not content with conquering the music world, Ezra got in on a firm celebrity favourite and released his own podcast this time last year. Called Geroge Ezra and Friends, the singer's 45-minute show aims to bring you in-depth interviews with the most popular artists including Ed Sheeran.
Where can we see him?
Catch George Ezra and his live band for an infectiously upbeat, energetic, and sonically captivating show that will have toes tapping and heads bopping tonight at the Dubai World Trade Center. Tickets are still just about available at: www.ticketmaster.ae. For more information, check out Live Nation Middle East on Facebook and @livenationme on Instagram and Twitter.