It was couples night, definitely. There were clumps of dolled-up girlfriends and a few mother-daughter combos present at the FleetCenter a week ago Wednesday, but most of the crowd was neatly paired off into male/female pairs, as if Noah himself had been selling the tickets. The reason: the first Boston concert in seven years by English singer Sade, who serves up a graceful and exquisite brand of soul that’s also some of the sexiest music on the planet. Her hushed, intimate, smoothed-out æsthetic is a perfect soundtrack for everything coital: pre-, post-, and, well, during.

Granted, it felt odd to hear the soundtrack to so much intimacy in the cavernous and sterile FleetCenter. But Sade overcame the surroundings and kept the amorous crowd entranced throughout her 90-minute set. Dressed in a pink Chinese-style sheath, she and her long-time band performed from a minimalist, gauzy stage set that looked as if it had been transported from one of Ian Schrager’s chic NYC hotels. Flying ninjas, legions of choreographed dancers, and avant-garde costuming were not necessary — take that, Ms. Ciccone — to this stripped-down performance, which focused on the basic pop elements: vocals and songs.

Sometimes criticized as an icy or detached singer, Sade proved otherwise: sounding bell-tone bright and late-night husky at the same time, she came off like sunshine burning through misty fog. Mariah-like pyrotechnics and Whitney-esque lung power weren’t on the program; rather, like a genuine jazz singer, she focused on careful phrasing. Her delicate and mindful delivery — most in evidence on an acoustic version of the ballad " Jezebel " — made the FleetCenter feel like a cozy cabaret.

The crowd sang along with all the old hits — " Smooth Operator, " " The Sweetest Taboo " — plus a handful from her reggae-flavored latest, Lover’s Rock (Epic). Mentioning titles is almost beside the point, since the concert felt like one long song (as has Sade’s entire career). Slight wrinkles appeared — the dub accents of " Slave Song, " the cocktail saxophone of " Your Love Is King " — but overall Sade stretched out that one smooth, stylish, silky love tune into a gauzy reverie that had everyone squeezing his or her date just a little bit closer.