When an artist starts their career singing primarily to a young audience, it can be exceptionally difficult to ever graduate to playing to adults.

Michael Jackson, George Michael and Justin Timberlake managed to make the transition — as did Paul McCartney and John Lennon, although boomers hate it when people call the Beatles a boy band — but they’re all very much the exception to the rule.

The English-Irish boy band One Direction, which was assembled from wannabe solo acts from “The X Factor” in 2010 and enjoyed six years of success before splitting, has already spawned Harry Styles, who has quickly ascended to the top of global pop stardom. So, from the start, Styles’ former bandmate Niall Horan has faced an even higher barrier than most in establishing himself as a solo act.

Yet Sunday night, the 30-year-old Horan filled St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center with an appreciative, well-mannered crowd full of women in their late teens and 20s. Without many little kids in attendance, the mood was celebratory but not as chaotic as it can get when there are screaming 14-year-olds in every other row.

The size of the audience speaks volumes about the devotion One Direction inspired, as Horan hasn’t really had any breakthrough singles that made a greater cultural impact beyond the fans. Horan’s performance hinted at the reasons why. He’s a handsome guy with a decent voice, an unobtrusive stage presence and a handful of pleasant enough pop songs that aim for, but never achieve, greatness.

Like Styles, Horan is a Fleetwood Mac fan. He took the stage to “The Chain” blasting over the loudspeakers and incorporated a snippet of Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” into his own “Small Talk.” (It is worth noting that while Horan covers Nicks, Styles is actually her good friend.)

In addition to hints of the Mac, much of Horan’s music dabbles in ’70s-style soft rock and more modern and tasteful mid-tempo pop and balladry. The set list drew from all three of Horan’s solo albums, the second of which he was set to tour in 2020, but never actually did due to the pandemic.

So Sunday was Horan’s first local concert since he drew just under 10,000 fans to the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand in 2018. He acknowledged that between songs, and while introducing the crowd favorite “Black and White,” Horan thanked his fans for being patient as tickets for the show went on sale a year ago and they had a lot of catching up to do.

Over the course of 90 minutes, Horan offered a series of mildly enjoyable songs more focused on atmosphere and vibes than indelible hooks. And it seems his record company applied some pressure for more Styles-esque material, as “Save My Life” from his latest album “The Show” sounded like an obvious (and failed) attempt to recreate the pop perfection of Styles’ megahit “As It Was.” And the record’s title track wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Styles’ own debut album.

The crowd loved it all but perked up noticeably when Horan broke out the mirror ball for a run through One Direction’s “Night Changes,” which turned into a massive audience singalong. The group singing also returned for a trio of semi-acoustic numbers, the tender ballads “Flicker” and “This Town” from his debut and “You Could Start a Cult” from his new one. The latter’s title suggested some potentially sexy and/or edgy lyrics, but like everything else in his repertoire, it was yet another perfectly fine, if somewhat dull, song.

Again, Horan seems like a nice enough guy, and comparing him to Styles probably isn’t fair. But, then again, Horan is no Harry Styles.

Related Articles

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Morris Day and the Time to headline Taste of Minnesota

St. Paul: Breakaway Music Festival draws fans — and noise complaints

‘Head Over Boots’ hitmaker Jon Pardi rounds out Minnesota State Fair Grandstand lineup

Concert review: ‘Art of Joy’ shows how Waigwa’s direction helps One Voice Mixed Chorus to thrive

Concert review: Morgan Wallen goes big on first of two sold-out shows at U.S. Bank Stadium

Power hitters have been long as described as being players who have some pop in their bat.

That phrase doesn’t do justice to what happens when the likes of Saints catcher Jair Camargo gets all of a baseball.

Camargo filled CHS Field with that unmistakable sound on Sunday afternoon with a tape-measure home run that helped propel the Saints to a 4-3 win over the Gwinnett Stripers.

The Saints trailed 3-2 in the sixth inning when Camargo led off the bottom of the inning with a drive to center field that carried over the batter’s eye. The ball traveled an estimated 450 feet. Chris Williams followed with his ninth homer of the season and third in three games to put the Saints in front to stay.

Like Williams, Camargo has had his struggles at the plate this season. He came into the game with a .217 batting average, having gone 1 for 16 in the series.

“It’s been a while,” Camargo said of his sixth home run of the season for the Saints. “I’ve been trying to get my timing back, get my confidence back. I can’t lie, it’s been a little frustrating for me. Obviously, I’ve been in this situation before at this level — at the beginning of the year.

“So, just trying to figure stuff out, trying to have conversations.”

While Camargo didn’t claim to have called his shot, he did say that something clicked on Saturday that made him feel like good things were coming.

“The at-bat that got me going was my last at-bat (which resulted in a walk),” he said. “It was a great at-bat. I was sticking to the plan, trusting the plan, trusting myself. That one gave me a feeling that, ‘OK, this is me.’ So, tomorrow come back and try to do the same in every at-bat.

“It showed up. If you look at my at-bats lately, I’ve been deep in counts, missing fastballs in the middle (of the plate), hitting breaking balls out in front a little bit. I hit that one, now hopefully more is coming.”

Part of Camargo’s struggles have to do with a right forearm strain that kept him on the injured list from May 1 to June 11.

“It’s tough when you have some time off, especially when you have a rhythm,” Camargo said. “I was trying to build it up quick (when he returned), and I had a little setback, too, with something in my calf.

“It wasn’t a big deal, it was more of a day-to-day thing. But it’s tough, especially mentally, when you’re trying to come back. It’s not about swinging in the cages or hitting off a tee. It’s more about game reps. Thank God, I’m starting to have good at-bats.”

The injury occurred just after Camargo returned to the Saints after making his major league debut with the Twins in mid-April.

“It was like a dream come true,” Camargo said of his nine-day stint with the Twins. “As we say in Latin America, once you taste that coffee you want to keep drinking it. The only thing you can do to go up there again is play good baseball and stay healthy.

“I’ve been a healthy guy, and this season I’ve had two injuries. It’s hard mentally, but you just have to ride the wave.”

Briefly

Reliever John Stankiewicz has been called up from Class AA Wichita. The 25-year-old right-hander signed with the Twins organization as an undrafted free agent in 2020 after a career at Fordham. Stankiewicz entered the game in the seventh inning and retired the Stripers in order. … Payton Eeles had an impressive four games after being called up from High-A Cedar Rapids. He batted .429 (3 for 7) and was on base 10 times. Eeles drew four walks and was hit by a pitch three times.

Christian Vazquez drove in all three runs for the Twins, including a walk-off home run against Josh Hader, as Minnesota beat the Houston Astros, 3-2, in front of 28,056 at Target Field on Sunday.

Vazquez was facing the Astros’ left-handed closer when he spanked a high fly ball to left that just looped over the wall. It was his first career walk-off hit.

The Twins won 2 of 3 from Houston, which entered the series having won 13 of 15 games, and improved to a season-high 12 games over .500.

Simeon Woods Richards gave the Twins a quality start, allowing two runs on three hits and a pair of walks. Jhoan Duran earned the victory after pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

Woods Richardson struggled early, giving up two runs on a hit, two walks and a sacrifice fly in the second inning.

Jon Singleton singled to left to start the inning and moved to third on consecutive walks before No. 9 hitter Cesar Salazar hit a fly ball to center to score Singleton and make it 1-0. Jose Altuve then singled to left to score Jake Meyers and make it 2-0.

But Woods Richardson settled down, throwing four 1-2-3 innings the rest of the way.

The Twins, meanwhile, manufactured a couple of runs to tie the game. Byron Buxton reached on a one-out single in the second, moved to second on Matt Wallner’s walk and scored on a soft single to left by Vazquez to cut Houston’s lead in half.

In the fourth inning, Brooks Lee opened with a single — initially an error charged to Altuve — and moved to third on Wallner’s hard single to right field. Vazquez then grounded to third, reaching on a fielder’s choice when Altuve — and forcing out Wallner at second — threw home to try and cut down Lee.

Lee was safe, tying the game 2-2, but Vazquez was thrown out 1-3 after rounding first for the second out, and after Trevor Larnach walked, Kyle Farmer struck out.

Farmer entered the game as a replacement for Carlos Correa, who was hit in the right hand by Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti in the first inning. Correa was diagnosed with a contusion on one of his fingers. Twins said initial scans were negative.

Jose Miranda, who tied a major league record with his 12th hit in 12 straight at-bats on Saturday, pinch hit for Farmer in the seventh and singled to left on the first pitch he saw. He was then cut down trying to steal second, 2-6.

The Twins had a golden opportunity to plate the go-ahead run in the eighth after Kepler drew a leadoff walk and Byron Buxton reached on a swinging bunt. But Brooks Lee, who extended his hitting streak to five games to start his major league career, hit into a 6-4-3 double play and Kepler was stranded at third when Manny Margot grounded out to short.

JERUSALEM — Israelis on Sunday marked nine months since the devastating Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7 and the start of the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip with a nationwide day of anti-government protests at a time that many here view as a pivotal juncture in the conflict.

Primarily calling for a cease-fire deal with Hamas that would see hostages return from captivity and for new elections in Israel, protesters brought traffic to a standstill at several major intersections in cities and on highways across the country. Much of central Tel Aviv was blocked in one of the biggest protests in months.

Some progress has been made in recent days for a resumption of negotiations toward a tentative deal after weeks of an impasse, even as the fighting continues in Gaza, where an Israeli strike hit in the area of a U.N. school Saturday, and across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.

But many Israelis, among them the families of some of the hostages, fear that the cease-fire efforts could be torpedoed not only by Hamas but also by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel who, they say, might prioritize the survival of his government over a deal that could topple it.

The leaders of two ultranationalist parties who are key elements of Netanyahu’s coalition have threatened to bring the government down if the prime minister agrees to a deal before Hamas is fully destroyed — a goal that many officials and experts consider unattainable.

The far-right parties in the governing coalition “don’t want a deal,” Shikma Bressler, a protest leader, said in a social media post early Sunday, adding, “They need Armageddon.

“And Bibi?” Bressler added, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “He needs war so there won’t be elections.”

Tensions over the potential deal also surfaced within Netanyahu’s own Likud party at the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday. After the prime minister accused the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, a rival, of playing politics, Gallant retorted by warning Netanyahu against any “politically driven attempt” to tie a hostage deal to other contentious issues dividing the government, according to Gallant’s office.

“This is a delicate hour,” Gallant said. “We must strike an agreement to secure the release of the hostages.”

Israel’s northern border remained volatile Sunday, with the Lebanese Hezbollah organization firing salvos of rockets, drones and anti-tank missiles into Israeli territory. In an unusual incident, a private U.S. citizen was injured in one of the strikes from Lebanon, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

The spokesperson said the person does not work for the U.S. government but could provide no further details, citing privacy concerns. An Israeli soldier was also lightly injured, according to the Israeli military.

The rockets from Lebanon came a day after Israeli aircraft carried out a deadly strike against a Hezbollah operative in the area of Baalbek, deep inside Lebanese territory, about 40 miles northeast of Beirut.

Israel identified the target as Meitham Mustafa Altaar, describing him as a key operative in Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Unit who had taken part in several attacks against Israel.

Another man believed to be an Israeli was seriously injured in a strike from Lebanon on Sunday that reached deeper into Israel than most of the previous attacks in months of tit-for-tat cross-border clashes.

In central Gaza on Saturday, Israeli aircraft struck in the area of a U.N. school in Nuseirat, where the Israeli military said Palestinian militants had been operating out of a number of structures. At least 16 people were killed and dozens wounded in the strike, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed so far in Gaza, according to local health officials.

The school had become a shelter for displaced people seeking safety, the ministry added. Hamas, in a statement, called the strike a “massacre.” The Israeli military said it had taken measures to avoid civilian casualties in the strike and blamed Hamas for operating from areas crowded with civilians.

On Sunday, the Israeli military said its air force struck another complex in the vicinity of a school building in Gaza City where fighters were operating, as well as a Hamas weapons manufacturing facility in the same area.

The military said it was continuing its operations in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, and in Shajaiye, an area east of Gaza City, in the north. The air force also carried out a strike against the municipality building in Khan Younis, a large southern city from which Israeli ground forces withdrew in April.

Hamas was using the building, the military said, for military activities. Before the strike, the military said, the civilian population was evacuated from the area.

At a protest calling for the release of the hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, a weekly occurrence, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held hostage in Gaza, said of the renewed talks for a cease-fire, “For the first time in many months, we feel hope.”

But she added: “Netanyahu, we’ve seen how time and again you’ve torpedoed deals at the moment of truth. Our heart was shattered each time. Don’t dare break our heart again! It is your duty to return all of the citizens you forsook.”

Many Israelis are enraged over Netanyahu’s refusal so far to take any personal responsibility for the Israeli intelligence and policy failures leading up to the Oct. 7 terrorist assault, in which 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli authorities, and about 250 more were taken into Gaza. Of the 120 hostages remaining in Gaza, at least a third are presumed dead, officials say.

The protests Sunday, which the organizers called a national “Day of Disturbance,” began at 6.29 a.m. — the time the Hamas-led attack began Oct. 7 — with “wake-up calls” outside the homes of several lawmakers and ministers, including Gallant.

Several tech companies allowed their staff time off to participate in the protests, which were expected to culminate in large rallies in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem later in the day. Sunday is a workday for most Israelis.

Despite recent progress in indirect contacts between Israel and Hamas, via U.S. and Arab mediators, sticking points remain, and a cease-fire deal is not considered imminent.

The talks are based on a three-stage framework first publicized by President Joe Biden in late May and later endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.

Both sides agree on the broad outlines of a deal that would include an initial six-week cease-fire and the release of the most vulnerable civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. But Hamas is seeking assurances that Israel won’t restart the war after some hostages come home. Israel says it needs the option of resuming hostilities and will not effectively commit to a permanent cease-fire from the outset.

Netanyahu’s office issued a statement Sunday evening saying the prime minister remains “steadfastly committed” to the principles already agreed upon by Israel and endorsed by Biden, including that any deal must allow Israel to resume fighting until it has achieved “all of the war’s goals.”

Related Articles

Hamas clears the way for a possible cease-fire in Gaza after dropping key demand, officials say

Bret Stephens: What would a better Israeli prime minister do?

Life and death in Gaza’s ‘safe zone’ where food is scarce and Israel strikes without warning

Israel turbocharges West Bank settlement expansion with largest land grab in decades

Strike kills family as Israeli evacuation order sparks panicked flight from southern Gaza city