Westlife are loud and proud on a big, bright night of pure pop
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Thursday November 19 2009
Back-flips and six packs -- they're all the rage these days. I'm telling you, it's true. Just ask one of the many teenage girls who attended last night's annual Childline Concert at the O2.
Then again, I'm the one suffering from the hearing problem today, so maybe I should explain.
It's as simple as this: JLS are the flavour of the month. And, from the sounds of it, it ain't just their fans' interest in the music that's landed them in such lucrative territory.
Indeed, all it takes is a flash of the abs and BANG! Another ear drum loses the battle. And that was just the start of it.
In fact, this year's crowd often threatened to shake the very foundations of a venue that I sincerely hope was built to withstand such astronomical levels of teenage excitement.
This was a pop extravaganza that did exactly what it said on the tin.
A big, bright, and colourful stage? Check. Glow sticks for everybody? Check. Michael Jackson inspired dance moves? Erm, check.
Bounce
Ah yes, kids everywhere had been counting down the days to this one. And, while everybody's new favourite boy band may have been a tough act to follow, Cascada's Natalie Horler was more than up to the task, presenting to her audience -- via cheap yet inexplicably popular eurotrance -- a reason to make like a pogo stick and bounce.
Were they tired yet? I don't think so, and while The Saturdays did very well to capture the attention of just about every red-blooded male in the room, it was up to last year's X Factor winner Alexandra Burke to provide the obligatory 'hands in the air' sing-along.
Pity it involved her butchering such a beautiful song ... you know the one.
Finally, after more than a year away from the stage and, indeed, the spotlight, headliners Westlife made their grand entrance, provoking the loudest - and scariest - shriek of the night with the always-reliable Flying Without Wings, which, predictably, went down a treat.
Here's to next year's event ... maybe this time, I'll remember to bring earplugs with me.
- Chris Wasser
