A never-ending barrage of screams echoed through Manchester’s O2 Apollo on Saturday as Union J hit the city with their Magazines and TV Screens tour.
With enough vocal power to give One Direction fans a run for their money, the unbelievable uproar of the young female-dominated crowd lasted the length of the show – surely leaving more than a few with sore throats and the rest of us with ringing ears by the end of the evening.
But before their army of followers got a glimpse of last year’s X Factor semi-finalists, Elyar Fox, Ollie Marland and Room 94 duly warmed up the crowd, though the dance-infused pop tunes of Czech Republic girl group 5Angels failed to get many on their feet.
Since exiting The X Factor in fourth place, the four-piece boy band comprised of Jaymi, JJ, Josh and George, have signed to Sony Music’s record label, released two Top 10 singles and a Top 10 self-titled debut album.
And now they kicked off their first UK and Ireland headline tour with Where Are You Now.
In between sets, a giant television screen showed home videos and childhood photographs of the boys, clearly with one goal in mind – to further pull on the heart strings of their adoring fans. Arguably a bit much for all but the most ardent fans, but no one seemed to mind.
Surprisingly, each band member single-handedly battled the resounding roars of female fans, daringly taking centre stage to sing solo.
Barely distinguishable when addressing the crowd, George took on Flo Rida’s Wild Ones as well as Katy Perry’s Roar, with JJ later singing One Republic’s Counting Stars and Josh entertaining with Beneath Your Beautiful.
Perhaps the most impressive solo performance came from Jaymi, who struck the right note with Beyoncé’s Listen, powerfully defining himself as the strongest vocalist of the group.
After getting the audience bouncing with their debut single Carry You, it was touching to hear the group speak of their journeys so far.
Screams of support were heard and there were hugs all round when Jaymi recounted coming out as gay during last year’s X Factor, while JJ thanked the crowd for the support received after the birth of his first child just over three weeks ago.
Slowing it down, with what would have been their winner’s single if they had reached the X Factor final, Union J covered Demi Lovato’s Skyscraper. Classically armed with slick suits and appropriately placed stools, their performance was an undeniable emotional contrast to the vocal Olympics on current champion Sam Bailey’s winning version of the same song.
Christmas then came early for a handful of lucky fans, selected from the crowd to join the boys on stage during their tear-jerking performance of Amaze Me.
The group’s rendition of Taylor Swift tunes no doubt wowed die-hard fanatics, especially with their cover of Love Story, reminiscent of their defining X Factor moment.
Thunderous cheers ricocheted around the Apollo while a video replayed the moment Louis Walsh gave the all-important ‘yes’ to the boy band during Judges’ Houses round.
The boys closed with Last Goodbye and Loving You Is Easy, while hundreds of glowing lights brightened a packed out Apollo during an uplifting performance of Beautiful Life.
Love or loathe the arguably manufactured boy band, their killer combination of crowd-pleasing pop songs and heart-wrenching ballads had the Apollo in the palm of their hand all night.
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