Gig review: The X Factor Live

Published on Tuesday 9 March 2010 18:09

X FACTOR LIVE *** SECC, GLASGOW

LAST year's series of The X Factor claimed its highest ever viewing figures and generated such ardent hysteria that even Simon Cowell was taken aback by the monster he had created.

All that fuss just to turn up one appealing, though generic, teenage balladeer (eventual winner Joe McElderry) and one unwittingly hilarious double act (the horrifically compelling John and Edward, aka Jedward) amid a sea of mediocrity.

The X Factor tour is usually as formulaic as the TV show, with the eight finalists taking their choreographed turn in the spotlight. But this year, some effort was made to mix it up with judicious use of a game troupe of dancers and lively Glee-style group numbers featuring all the contestants bar McElderry, who was held in reserve for the finale.

Teenager Lloyd Daniels scored highly on the scream-o-meter, but he lacked the vocal punch or stage presence to work an arena. Jamie Archer sounded like an old pro in comparison, revving up the crowd with his energetic version of Kings of Leon's Sex On Fire. Continuing the sing-what-you-see approach to stagecraft, Danyl Johnson's technically accomplished but hammy version of Purple Rain was embellished with a lilac ticker-tape shower. Gurning runner-up Olly Murs was just plain hammy without any mitigating gimmicks. Representing the girls, Lucy Jones rocked Guns 'n' Roses with the ferocity of Josie and the Pussycats, while Stacey Solomon was part girl-next-door, part fish-out-of-water.

Fortunately, those demented wind-up dolls Jedward were on hand to make this the silliest and most entertaining X Factor tour to date, with their absurdly comical some-singing, all-dancing routines culminating in the pair flying over the crowd dressed as Ghostbusters.

The second half was poorer for their absence. McElderry could not compete for surreal showbiz spectacle, but he does have natural charm and a flawless singing voice.