This concert review is a special contribution from Zack Hourihane (@zachwithak). All photos are taken by Zack.

British sensation Jessie J was in Singapore for a one night only concert on 20 March 2012. It was the last show of her Australian/Asian tour supporting her debut album “Who You Are”.

The ticket prices ranged from $85 to $175. The top ticket price for the Taylor Swift concert was also $175; comparing the success and achievements of Taylor Swift and that of Jessie J, the $175 ticket price for Jessie J was a bit much.

** While it’s stated that it’s the “Who Are You” tour on the ticket, it’s actually part of her Heartbeats Tour 2012.

STAGE/VENUE:

The stage was very disappointing! It was plain and boring. There were only a LED display  for the backdrop and a staircase. I was expecting more; Jessie J seems like the type of artist to have a more lavish stage.

Also, the lighting was pretty bad throughout the concert. At some points (especially at the beginning of her set) Jessie J didn’t even have a spotlight on her so I have no idea how people in the nosebleed seats could see her. Also, the sound was terrible that night as there was an annoying fuzzy buzz to it.

OPENING ACT: The opening act was a pan-Asian girl group called “Blush” and they were quite rubbish to be perfectly honest. I can’t remember all the nationalities of the girls but there certainly wasn’t one from Singapore. They did about 5-6 songs with an “ok” energy level which did little to excite the crowd. Other than saying “are you guys excited for Jessie J?”, they didn’t try to get people out of their seats much.

Disappointingly, they weren’t singing live and every so often at a high note, one of their microphones would be switched on and it sounded like a screeching cat.

CROWD: The crowd was a mixture of middle aged people, teenagers and young girls. There were a hell of a lot of parents at the concert chaperoning their kids hence it took a while to build up and atmosphere during the concert.

When Jessie first pranced on stage, people were just blankly sitting in their seats and texting. Fortunately, by the end of the concert, even the parents were standing up and singing along to Price Tag!

JESSIE J: Jessie J took the stage at around 9pm singing Who’s Laughing Now. It was a really great first song, if only the crowd had participated more!

I was really impressed with her stamina. She was singing while leaping and running about the stage the whole time. As a singer myself, I really admire her showmanship!

She went straight into Rainbow after Who’s Laughing Now. The next couple of songs was a blur until Nobody’s Perfect.

Nobody’s Perfect was a highlight of the night for me, it’s one of her best songs in my opinion. By then the crowd finally got going and everyone was singing and dancing along with her.

After Nobody’s Perfect, the next song I recognized was Who You Are. Jessie J’s vocals really shone in that song. She gave a very moving speech about how even people like her feel insecure and have bad days but you just have to be true to yourself and love yourself for who you are.

Jessie J then went into Mama Knows Best. She is amazing when she does scat. I wish she would showcase her vocal talents more – it’s quite frustrating because her songs don’t display the full extent of her vocal talent. Her high notes were completely dazzling, and I think everyone in the stadium was stunned by the pure strength of her vocals.

For the encore, she came back on stage all set for Do It Like A Dude – only to find her band missing! Her band had hidden backstage to prank her for the last show of the tour. Also, Jessie J pulled up two little girls who had signs reading “Can we sing with you?” and let them sing Price Tag with her – obviously the song of the night that most people had come to the concert for.

Jessie J closed off the show with Domino. Everyone was dancing and singing along once again. The rhythm of the drumbeat and guitar riff of the “remix” made it impossible to not dance! She also brought her entire crew on stage to sing Domino with her. You could tell it was a bittersweet night for her as it was the last date on the tour and that she will be parting ways with her band and crew! She thanked us all, and promised to be back if we would have her! And I’m sure Singapore will.