KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — Khalid is still only 20 years of age but his debut show in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday showed that he has matured from the R&B heartthrob who debuted with American Teen last year.

The boxy-haired artiste arrived to a large roar from a rather diverse audience.

To our surprise, in only three years his fanbase has expanded, with some nearly in their 40s gripping on to his lyrics.

Everything about the Texas musician was almost perfect.

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From the way he grooved, interacted with the audience, and ensured he left his footprints behind across every inch of the KL Live stage. 

It is harder to compare how he would fare against similar artistes of his genre because everything felt authentic.

The show kicked off to 8TEEN, before Khalid belted out Winter, American Teen and Coaster.

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He looked rather tired but kept it cool and real.

The audience lifted some energy to him, taking over vocal duties on Therapy, Another Sad Love Song, Saved and Eastside/Hopeless.

Vocally nothing was wrong but throughout short periods, his falsettos were dwarfed by his rock ballad-like band and the screams by thousands who filled the sold-out venue.

But what struck us with each passing song was how relatable his music was to the social media frenzy fans.

Lyrics, which younger generations can connect during their carefree teenage years, while taking the older crowd through a walk in the past.

The unique mixture of soul and pop took a twist after Young Dumb & Broke with a future bass drop with Silence, a song he collaborated with Marshmello, followed by Love Lies and Calvin Harris’ Rollin.

Besides his tasteful song writing, what kept the festival goers dancing was the well-rehearsed dance team that accompanied him from start to finish.

Towards the end of the night however, an unwanted incident occurred.

Something which went unnoticed during the concert, but went viral on Twitter four days ago.

A fan allegedly threw a phone at the artiste.

Although he confessed later that it was accidental, the El Paso singer said it was done on purpose.

Khalid explained on Twitter, saying: “I saw it all right before it happened. The phone couldn’t have gone from the middle of the crowd, over groups of people, past the barricade and all the way to the middle of the stage on accident, no way.

“But when it happened, I kept performing because regardless if I was angry or not, I’m not going to let that affect the mood of the show. I had fun! But I am also, not a dumb a**. it’s not that deep.”

For someone still below the age of 21, he handled the situation professionally.

That incident aside, Khalid is one of the most influential artistes today.

Some seven years ago a very young Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande hit stardom in a similar way.

There is still so more room for Khalid to grow, but at this pace, his popularity will expand in no time.

A better stage presence would seal the deal, but if there were four words to describe the concert, it was almost perfect.