Harry Styles stood at the top of the stage, the singer-songwriter swallowed up in a fluffy black coat at the start of his headlining set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Friday, April 15.

But not for long. In an instant, he was off, running down the curved white staircase that surrounded his band, throwing off the coat that looked a little reminiscent of Big Bird, and launching the show with the live debut of his recent single “As It Was.”

Styles, at 28, is a terrifically charismatic performer, and he delivered a very, very good performance to close out the festival’s first night.

If it fell a little short of a classic Coachella headliner’s set, well, that’s due more to the fact that his set felt more or less like any other tour date might, though the unexpected arrival of special guest Shania Twain an hour into the show certainly added some of that missing pizzazz.

The coat gone, Styles dazzled in a one-piece pantsuit covered in sequins, the large round sequins, which made him sparkle and flash like a human disco ball as he danced around the stage. Freddie Mercury would have approved.

The first half of the show focused mostly on songs from Styles’ 2019 sophomore album, “Fine Line.” Songs such as “Adore You,” “Golden,” and “Carolina” were solid, and well received, but again, nothing you wouldn’t hear at any other Styles show.

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Things got more interesting, though, when Styles dropped a few brand-new songs into the set. The announcement of the first, “Boyfriends,” drew wild cheers from the crowd, and prompted Styles to chide them, jokingly, for their blind devotion.

“You haven’t heard it yet, you don’t know if you like it!” he told them.

Of course they were going to like it, and in fact, it was a strong acoustic folk rock number reminiscent of the Laurel Canyon era, with Styles joined by two harmony vocalists and a pair of acoustic guitarists.

The acoustic vibe continued with “Cherry,” an older song. A few songs later, Styles turned up the energy with a trio of upbeat hits.

“We’ve got 12 minutes of non-stop dancing, are you coming with me?” he asked the crowd. “Please say yes.”

“Canyon Moon” featured Styles’ horn section, who joined him at the end of a ramp that stretched out into the crowd. “Treat People With Kindness” followed with a similarly funky groove.

But the next number, “What Makes You Beautiful,” really got the audience engaged, the ridiculously catchy pop song the one tune from Styles’ former band One Direction included in the show.

Styles then brought out one of his apparent idols, the country pop legend Twain, to duet on a pair of her songs. “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” came first, a sassy, fun number that had the crowd singing along loudly.

“In the car, with my mother as a child, this woman taught me to sing,” Styles said almost reverentially after the song.

“I’m kind of lost for words,” replied Twain, whose outfit featured almost as many sequins’ as Styles. “I’m a bit star struck, what can I say?”

“You’re Still The One,” one of Twain’s loveliest songs, followed. At its close, gentleman Harry kissed Twain’s hand, and off she went, now the one performer to have performed headlining sets, or least contributed to one, at both Coachella and Stagecoach.

Another new song, “Late Night Talking,” came next, its bass line the kind of funky Chic-inspired riff in David Bowie’s “Let Dance.” “Watermelon Sugar,” another of Styles’ big hits, followed to close out the main set, though Styles and the band really didn’t leave the stage.

After “Kiwi,” and a first blast of fireworks, the night wrapped up with “Sign Of The Times,” one Styles’ best numbers, and as the wind sent the final rounds of pyrotechnics flying, the first day of Coachella, on the main stage, at least, came to a close.

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