Girls Aloud: Ten - The Hits Tour

As you know, I love going to concerts. If someone I love is playing a gig, I'm there.

So you can understand when Girls Aloud announced their reunion tour, Ten - The Hits Tour,  I was making sure I was one of the first to buy tickets to what could possibly be the final time they toured. It has been 10 years since they burst onto the scene, and since then have had every gay guy dancing away to hits like Biology, The Show, Something Kinda Ohh, and Love Machine.

On Saturday, I made my way back to the O2 arena with Vitor and Ben for a night of camp filled pop music. As part of the experience, we were fortunate enough to be invited to visit the Sky Backstage Bar beforehand and relax before the show. None of us are Sky customers, but if you happen to be then you can sign up to gain tickets if you are visiting the arena for a show. You are greeted with a red-carpet arrival and then offered a complimentary massage to help you break out your dance moves, followed by sitting back in the bar with food and wine.







As we drank up our final glasses of wine, we made our way through the bar and into the arena to grab a standing spot. This is the part I hate the most, as the waiting around can sometimes drag out longer than you want. Luckily, the support act was Amelia Lily which made the waiting game a little easier.

As the lights dropped and the arena started screaming, we knew it was time for the main show.  As the opening video came to a close, the music started to kick in and suddenly the 5 ladies appeared stood above their name.

Cue screaming and ecstatic gays for about 100 minutes!













One of the highlights of the night came from when the band emerged dressed similar to the Victoria Secret models. Strutting their stuff down the 'catwalk,' they looked uh-mazing and gorgeous. We all turned to each other and said the same words...

'I am now straight!'

I did scream out 'I Love You Nadine' at this point!

Although the highlight of the concert came mid way through, when the chords for 'Sexy, No No No,' started. The girls appeared on top of the Girls Aloud sign again, and this time flew out into the audience to land on the B-Stage.









It was absolutely amazing. To be thisclose to them was unbelievable.

As the show went on, all the old numbers were belted out, and Oh My God did they sing live. We all know Nadine is the best singer, but Nicola could belt it out just as well! From watching the whole arena jump up and down for 'Jump,' to singing along to Can't Speak French, Girls Aloud put on a show from start to finish! We kept taking pictures, screaming and singing along word for word!

Yes, we really are those kind of fans!





After wowing us with Something New (that number 2 hit that should have been number 1!), the girls thanks us, disappeared and left us waiting for the encore!

All I can say is... Hello Jessica Rabbit inspired outfits! Damn did they look amazing. Starting with I'll Stand By You, complete with a video montage from the last 10 years, and then finishing withthe Brit-Award single The Promise...

There were even red and white feathers as the confetti!

As they disappeared down below the stage, the lights came up and we took a few minutes to come to terms with how good that concert was. A lot of people beforehand had a little giggle about me going to see Girls Aloud, but I was so taken aback at how flawless the performance was. For 10 years after winning a reality TV show, they have showed us they have earned their place in pop-history! It was pure pop-perfection, and if this is their final tour as they are saying, then they went out on a level that other girl-bands cannot compete with.

Cheryl, Nadine, Nicola, Sarah and Kimberly, you absolutely rocked!

Surprise!

Ok, so technically this isn't a surprise as I had booked it and then forgot about it, but to have these come through the door this morning was a surprise (and reminder!).



I am a huge fan of Florence and The Machine, so when I heard she was going on tour again I had to buy tickets! I went to her Lungs tour back in 2009, which was phenomenal. She is one of those artists that doesn't need the fancy stage (coughcoughLadyGaGacough), insanely good choreography (coughBritney) or huge venues (screw it, look at U2 or Madonna for that one!) because you just get lost in the music. It's a strange moment when your in a small venue, waiting for that drum to kick in and the crowd go wild. When they do, it is an electrifying hour and a half where you jump up and down, and feel like you are sat in their living room with them having a private concert!

Tickets have sold out for all her dates this year, but I am sure eBay will have some spare. If you can get your hands on some, then by all means go! It may not be your kind of music, but you will walk out a fan. Here are a few shots from her last tour... We got that close by using our elbows slightly!









 

 

Superstars.

A high-profile and extremely successful performer.

I love going to music concerts, period. I live for my music and to go and see someone perform live doesn't get any better for me. I have seen so many artists that the list could go on and on, but over the course of the last three weeks I have seen two artists perform again who I adore.

If you scroll down my previous posts, you will see I uploaded a preview of The Femme Fetale Tour by a certain Miss Britney Spears. I could not tell you how excited I was as the dates came closer (yes, I do mean dates as in multiple nights) and when the days finally came round, I was like a small child at christmas.

I chose to go twice for two reasons. The first, simple, is because I love Britney. I am the boy at the front of the crowd screaming her name, or checking her fansites on my Blackberry. I had to see this show twice, especially after I went twice to her previous tour.  The second reason was a little different. Each time I go to a concert, I jump up and down, scream until I cannot speak, and enjoy the moment, but the next day I struggle to remember everything. I think that when you are in a moment of excitement, you don't take everything in, and when it comes to Britney, I wanted to remember it all.

There are so many people out there who say Britney hasn't got it anymore, and I agree to an extent. This wasn't on par with The Onyx Hotel tour in terms of dancing but came close, and with this tour she sang live in parts. For an artist that, in her early 20's, had her sole focus on performing, you have to give her credit for getting up on stage and still going after all her troubles. The show is AMAZING, and you have to go to a Britney Spears concert expecting Britney Spears the performer. Only one song of the 21 piece set was a ballad, the remainder were club friendly songs that turned The O2 Arena into a nightclub. With fireworks, a pink Mini, and a lucky fan getting a lapdance from Britney, it was indeed a spectacle.



One thing that did make me laugh was a fan who was stood behind me. During Slave 4 U, he shouted 'Come on Britney, dance harder!' When I asked him why he was shouting, he said he had been to 6 of her concerts in America and her dancing was incredible, but here she seems tired. I think this shows that even the most dedicated of performers can have their off moments as she seemed more energized on the second night.



With that being said, The Femme Fetale tour was energetic and did exactly what it set out to do, entertain every Britney fan, and even turn some not-so-sure people into fans. I quote my friend Lian who I took with me, 'Oh my god I love her new album, its so good!'



Roll on a couple of weeks and I find myself at The LG Arena in Birmingham, dancing along to Calvin Harris and channeling my 15 year old self with a Smirnoff Ice. With this being the warm up act for Rihanna, I was left questionning exactly why Calvin Harris was chosen. A support act are normally acts who are not as popular as the headlining artist, but Calvin Harris is the reason why Rihanna is riding high in the charts right now. The arena was so highly energized that I was unsure Rihanna could top that. I would have to wait an hour (supposed to be 20 mins!) to find out.

The moment Rihanna appeared on stage, my mind was made up. Here is a performer who has had a huge amount of hits in a short career, yet for some reason I was a little uncertain. Sure, her songs are brilliant, and her new album has been on replay for the last 7 days, but I was left wondering whether it is the songs that make Rihanna, or Rihanna that makes the songs. Compared to Britney, there was very little dancing and most of the songs only featured her singing about 50% of them, leaning on the crowd to sing the rest. Sure, Britney is known for lip-syncing, but at least she was giving it with the dancing. The only time I saw Rihanna really blast out some dance moves was when the final song, We Found Love, came on.

But then, like each popstar currently riding our airwaves, it is all about the music. Rihanna recently talked about how she would like the focus to be on her music, not her image, and this was most definately the case at the concert. Each and every person was standing, jumping and screaming throughout when the typical hits came one, and I was left open mouthed when she grabbed a female audience member, laid her down and thrusted her Little Rihanna in her face.

I must admit, when I walked out of the Rihanna concert, I grabbed my phone and updated my status about how I was love to be her. Again, like Britney, she came out and she did entertain the crowd and myself.

The trouble is now, if someone asked me who I prefer out of these two superstars, I don't think I know the answer. Being a Britney fan from day 1, I should stand by her, but when a certain singer from Barbados makes me want to dance like I am a Rude Boi, it leaves me wondering who will still be around in 10 years time, entertaining me like they each did in their own way.