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The 2018 Pakistan Super League (PSL) kicked off on Thursday with a glitzy opening ceremony at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. But we know the night's not all about cricket.

PSL always brings some major star power into the mix; Hareem Farooq and Bilal Ashraf took center stage at the opening ceremony. The festivities opened with Sachal Orchestra's beautiful rendition of the national anthem, which was followed up by electric performances by Ali Zafar, the legendary Abida Parveen and Shehzad Roy.

R&B star Jason Derulo followed and drew loud cheers from the crowd as he performed his famous track 'Swalla'.

Social media, however, has been a little harder to please.

Nauman Ijaz was not feeling it...

But hey, let's give credit where credit is due

Sometimes, there's such a thing as trying too hard

This dude has a bone to pick with the camera guy

Maybe it wasn't Derulo's fault

To be fair, who can give a good performance after Abida Parveen?

Seriously, no comparison guys

Clearly, this was not money well-spent by PSL...

The mixed reception to Derulo has us wondering: Is the charm of 'foreign artists' wearing off in Pakistan?

Having an international performer in the artiste line-up has been a regular practice of the PSL since its inception in 2016 (Sean Paul and Shaggy performed at the earlier opening ceremonies) and doing so is thought to bring hype and add prestige to the event.

However, given that the audience wasn't totally swayed by his performance, perhaps it's time for PSL to rethink this formula? Sure, the Instead of signing on a token foreign artiste, the slot could go to a popular Pakistani performer (like Atif Aslam, according to this guy) whose presence would make more sense in the context of PSL. Now in its third year, PSL is hailed as a sign of our progress in the global cricket arena and its opening ceremony is thus more suited to a celebration of Pakistani culture and talent.