As a solo artist these days (primarily the females) there’s a lot of pressure to be an amazing performer. Lady Gaga has nailed the “alternative” (polite for fucking crackers) niche, Rihanna has the exotic sex symbol down, Britney owns the miming title and Madonna could come on stage and drop a turd onto a newspaper spread and it would still be applauded. So was Jessie J gonna leave a lasting impression on a forever critical audience?
She opened the night in a white flowing dress that was pelted around by fuck-off wind machines. It might not sound impressive but we’d kill for a breeze like that while strutting through Soho. And she really exercised her vocals well to a packed out O2 Arena. The show was broken down into five sections (Awake, Love, Instinct, Value, Energy = A.L.I.V.E). The interludes were made up of ethereal video streams and poetry she’d written herself, which as a beautiful concept would have stood out more with a more varied approach for each division.
She then went on to perform in another fitted red number that would have been top marks if we’d have seen a pair of heels rather than Nike trainers – but let’s face it, that’s not really her style. ‘Laserlight’ was one of the show-stealers (despite it not being her best song) when all the lights when out apart from thousands of tiny green lasers; simple but effective. By far the best part of her show though was when Jessie took it old school performing her first track Do It Like A Dude, Price Tag and my personal favourite Who You Are...There was even one point when Jessie began to tear up, showing us that she really does have a genuine love for what she does (and yes, I almost teared up too). It was nice to see a relatable side to her that doesn’t get seen often beneath that Dagenham dialect. She ended the night with a confetti-bursting It’s My Party, that the queens enjoyed as much as the kids. Although be prepared for an unnecessary warble at the end of every song.
She puts on a great show and proved that she still has that powerful vocal range she was once known for (remember that video of her performing at Times Square Subway Station?) – we wish her latest material hadn’t differed from her urban, less-commercial sounds but regardless, she gives an energy that just makes you wanna get up and dance – especially that hippy two rows in front; if we wanted to see a lonely lesbian swaying around like she’s got rhythm, we’d watch Portia Di Rossi do Zumba.
Even if you’re not the biggest fan of Jessie’s latest sound, she nailed every one of her older songs and wasn’t attempting to be the next weird and wonderful thing of pop.
Rating: 4/5
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