We cheered them on during their X Factor journey, and tonight I finally got the chance to see the JLS boys in the flesh, when they came to Glasgow’s Clyde Auditorium on their current tour.
Love them or hate them, you can’t deny Aston, JB, Marvin and Oritsé put on a good show, and they certainly didn’t disappoint their screaming fans on Sunday night, who had come out in their droves armed with flashing bunny ears and neon glow sticks.
If I’m honest, I’m not the biggest boyband fan around, but even I was impressed by JLS’s sheer energy, impressive harmonising and perfectly in-time dance moves, and it wasn’t long before I'd become caught up in the hype of it all.
Performing the only Scottish date on their current tour, last year’s X Factor runners-up stormed on stage to belt out some of their biggest hits from their self-titled debut album, including their number ones Beat Again, and Everybody in Love.
Kicking off with the album track Private, the guys – supported by four sexy male backing dancers - soon whipped the crowd into a frenzy, changing the pace throughout by jumping from ballads such as their audition song If I Ever, to upbeat tracks like their new single One Shot, which is out tomorrow (February 24).
Their impressive Michael Jackson medley - which saw with Aston taking on the Jackson 5 classic I Want You Back, JB going for Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough, Oritsé singing the massive Beat It, and Marvin belting out The Way You Make Me Feel – also went down a storm.
Flashes of flesh and the odd back-flip from Aston induced yet more screams from their predominantly female fans, and of course, frequent shout-outs to Glasgow didn’t hurt either, with Aston met with delighted cheers when he told the screaming crowd: “Me and the boys always say it feels so good to be back home”. A quick rendition of You Cannae Shove Your Granny Off a Bus went down well too.
Although the guys had just one album to work from, they performed a rather respectable 17 songs in total, including their moving Close to You, which they dedicated to those who have suffered in the Haiti tragedy.
JLS have had an amazingly successful year since coming second on The X Factor, securing no less than two MOBO Awards and two Brit Awards. They’ve also just been tipped as the “new N’Sync” by hip-hop megastar Jay-Z, proving just how hot these guys really are just now.
The guys were supported on Sunday by all-girl five-piece Phacebook, who performed a set of sugary-sweet pop and R&B songs.
Their set was followed up by Stevie Hoang, an Essex-based 24-year-old R&B producer/artist, who has had an amazing 15.5 million plays on Myspace, and has been hailed as the ‘Chinese Ne-Yo’.
A big name in Japan, where he has already released two albums, Hoang might not be very well-known in Britain yet, but he certainly seemed to know how to work the crowd, warming them up nicely for the main attraction of the night.
If you missed them this time around, JLS are returning on December 13 this year to play the larger SECC.
