I was disappointed on my arrival to learn that I had missed new soul singer, Maverick Sabre, as the wonderful London transport system decided to encroach on my social plans yet again!
However, next up was singing sensation of the moment, our very own home-bred Jessie J, and I was extremely excited about hearing her beautiful voice in the amazing setting.
The venue was packed although there were spaces in the more expensive seats, with an interesting mix of hardcore Tinie Tempah and Jessie J fans as well as a surprisingly large amount of parents with their youngsters, who had obviously been worn down to attend the gig because 'it was in The Royal Albert Hall' and 'all the ticket money was going to the Teenage Cancer Trust.'
Jessie J took to the stage exuding the confidence that we have learnt to expect from her in her short and amazingly quick rise to fame.
As usual, her trademark eternally long legs were on show in funky black patterned tights and a leather corset-style upper body piece. Although she immediately looked like a star onstage she was quite clearly in awe of being in such a grand and monumental venue and told the audience, "I remember coming here when I was at primary schoo!"
Miss J launched into her set and anyone who didn't know what she was about quickly learnt. As a performer she commands so much stage presence and had some serious 'swagger' as she moved across the space and showed a range of emotions through her face and actions.
When she wasn't singing she spoke to the audience, cracked jokes, and came across as a genuinely down-to-earth lovely girl with a cheeky personality.
As she revealed it was her 23rd birthday the audience went crazy and attempted a disjointed version of Happy Birthday. "I'm so glad I'm here on my birthday. It's like this is a party I never really knew about!"
Her spine-tingling vocal range was obvious when she performed her song 'Abracadabra' from her album and her acoustics filled the building.
It's almost impossible not to be won over by Jessie and as she ran about the stage trying to get the security guards to turn around, she had the audience completely captivated.
Proving she's a perfectionist she began singing Nobodys Perfect when she asked for the band to start again as she couldnt hear herself and the audience deserved a good performance.
For her hit 'Price Tag' she was joined onstage by UK grime artist Devlin, and together they provided a raw and talented performance.
The interval between her and Tinie's set reminded everybody why we were there with VT's broadcast showing teenagers dealing with cancer. It was very emotional and humbling as 20 year old Kayleigh, who has an incurable brain tumour, was brought onstage and told the audience to live everyday like it's their last; she was overwhelmed and elated to be onstage there and it made the evening feel so special.
Finally, Tinie Tempah came onstage after a lot of visual effects and a VT shown from the point of view of a 'young Tinie' being chucked out of school and starting his road to success.
Impressively the star, dressed all in white, was accompanied by his DJ, as well as a band and orchestra.
He launched into his tunes with a lot of younger girls in the crowd going absolutely crazy and screaming their adoration at him.
He bounced across the stage while rapping out his hits and the audience went into a frenzy as he played hits such as 'Wonderman' and 'Written In The Stars'.
He declared, "It feels so good to be home! This feels better than any concert I've ever done. Theres nothing better than doing it for this cause."
Tinie revealed that he is a big softie during his set, as he spoke a lot during his tunes, and spent a lot of time talking about his journey and his fans in a sentimental tone.
When he sang the song he said he had written for his fans, 'Invincible', he chose 9 (ridiculously excited) audience members to stand onstage as he serenaded them with the tune. I personally found this slightly uncomfortable viewing as it went on for a bit too long but maybe I'm just a meanie!
The highlight was when his DJ and band decided to compete against each other, which quite literally had the whole venue jumping. They switched between the biggest dance tracks including the likes of Taio Cruz as well as his own club track with Swedish House Mafia, 'Miami 2 Ibiza'.
I've been to The Royal Albert Hall many a time to see non-classical artists but have quite honestly never seen the place look so much like a rave!
He also got the audience together to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Jessie J, who had playfully referred to him as Little Tantrum during her set, so that he could send her the video.
He finished his performance by declaring again that it was his best gig ever and playing out the chart-topper of last year, 'Pass Out', which absolutely raised the roof.
Overall, the event had a real feel-good atmosphere about it and the artists involved provided their best performances, as they felt it was for such an important cause. In terms of putting on a show, Tinie entertained his fans but it was Jessie J's acoustics that really stood out for me and stole the evening.
article by: Fiona Madden
published: 30/03/2011 16:14
FUTURE GIGS
sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.