TWO thousand people packed Brighton Dome on Sunday to witness the homecoming of number one selling artist Passenger.

The star, real name Michael Rosenberg, topped the charts in 2013 with the internationally best-selling song Let Her Go.

An emotional Rosenberg thanked the crowd for the jubilant reception and sang Spring In Brighton, dedicated to his hometown.

In an impassioned interlude speech to the crowd he said: “Last week my song just reached two billion plays on YouTube. But I can honestly say that being here in Brighton with 2,000 people in the Dome is a much, much better experience.”

He was supported by singer-songwriter Lucy Rose.

As the crowd left the Dome in the late hours and descended on to Church Road, a chorus of Passenger’s greatest hits could be heard ringing out.

Passenger began his career busking on the streets of Brighton and is still known for his impromptu performances, most recently in Ship Street.

Now, his hit song Let Her Go has had more plays on YouTube than three times the number of people living in Europe – more than two billion.

In 2014, the song was nominated for the Brit Award for British Single of the Year and he received the British Academy’s Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work.

But despite his past successes, the crowd seemed more enthralled with songs from his newest album Runaway, which was released on August 31.

He said: “Despite what most of the world think, my newest album is my 11th, not my 2nd.”

Passenger will be touring Europe until September 29, visiting Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands. and Belgium.