Sharing more popularity in the country than almost any other international pop star on the planet, Jason Mraz returned to Seoul for his seventh concert performance here in eight years ― only this time around, the singer left his amps at home.

Invigorating thousands with his signature earthy, groovy beats in two sold-out acoustic concerts at the Sejong Center on Monday and Tuesday, an acoustic evening with Mraz and friends was an unexpected revelation, speaking as someone who has seen the singer perform on more than one occasion.

Even for those who have seen him perform here before, concertgoers were surely not disappointed this year as the show as a whole was a completely different experience and had a refreshing new vibe as it took place in a small theater.

In a far more intimate performance than his concert last year at the Jamsil Sports Complex in front of around 18,000 fans, Mraz had the opportunity to truly showcase himself and his vocals at his best ― and he did not drop the ball. 

Not being drowned out by an overpowering electric live band, every nuisance of the Grammy Award-winning pop star could be heard crystal clear, with Mraz beautifully highlighting his signature lyrical style of mashing intricate jazz-like scatting with his Kumbaya-like spiritual and soothing vocals for a night of auditory healing.

Mraz’s Monday night show opened with performances by American all-girl indie band Raining Jane, with the members acting as his live band for the evening. The four ladies and Mraz share a long musical history, collaborating on a number of tracks together including the single “A Beautiful Mess.” They also cowrote almost every song with Mraz on the artist’s most recent studio album, “Yes!” released in July.

After a short performance by the band, Mraz finally took the stage and opened with “Love Someone” before moving on to a lively acoustic scat version of his crowd-pleasing smash hit “Geek in the Pink.”

Shredding his acoustic guitar and seamlessly flowing in and out of his trademark pop-rap lyrics, the 37-year-old showed that he hasn’t lost his touch. Mraz also performed his tongue-twister of a song “The Dynamo of Volition,” which he claimed was never intended to be heard by the world, as he wrote the track as part of a weekly song playing game he participates in with a bunch of “nerds.”

“It’s never good to let your mind stop you from having a good time,” he said just before performing the song.

Without a doubt some of the best performances of the night came as a result of there being only one mic on the stage, with his bandmates hovering tightly around him at the center spotlight.

The singer brought back revamped acoustic renditions of his most popular hits including a ukulele rendition of “Butterfly,” as well as his acoustic versions of “Make It Mine” and “Remedy.” The low-key, laid-back remix of the original up-tempo pop track “Remedy” managed to breathe new life into the 12-year-old hit song that is credited with launching the performer to mainstream stardom.

However, probably one of the biggest highlights of the night ― and surely one of the most memorable songs that had audience members “oohing and ahhing” ― was when Mraz sauntered over to the piano and performed “Mr. Curiosity.”

He took one of his lesser-known tracks, which just happened to have a somewhat shocking operatic twist in the middle, and belted out some high-pitched opera vocals, showing off his mezzo soprano range and leaving the audience with one overarching consensus: “Damn, this guy can sing.”

As is customary at most of his shows, the self-proclaimed optimist and environmentalist livened up the night by adding a bit of comedy throughout the show, even sarcastically saying it was his lifelong dream to be in a girl band. Mraz also took some time to share some random spiels about positivity in love and nature ― even asking the audience to take time during the intermission to engage in “inner mission” of self-reflection.

After returning to the stage, Mraz brought back and concluded the acoustic evening of soulful musical healing with arguably some of his fans’ most anticipated performances, “I’m Yours” and “I Won’t Give Up.”

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)