Children's Express reviews the Smash Hits Tour at Belfast's Odyssey Arena.
| The show came to a climax with the gorgeous Busted... who cares if they hadn’t even plugged in their guitars? |
Going to a high-adrenalin concert like the Smash Hits Tour was always going to be a manic experience.
We saw a lot of people running around with personalised T-shirts and homemade posters as well as the fairly expensive merchandise that was being flogged in kiosks everywhere.
It seemed that nobody was disappointed as all the bands made a great effort to please the Belfast crowd.
All 10 of Blazin' Squad were there all the way from East London with their street beats, updating their famous Crossroads dance routine on the evening.
As well as all the pop bands, Lasgo, Ian Van Dahl, Milk Inc, Madhouse, 3rd Edge, Harvey from So Solid Crew, Aleesha from Misteeq and D-Side also made appearances.
New comers to the Smash Hits Awards were the winners of the Irish Pop Stars, Six.
Starting the second half of the show with a boom, Six were successful in making almost everybody in the arena jump in the air and scream out their names.
The crowd didn't loose it's electricity all night and the hosts kept everyone on there feet.
The show came to a climax when the gorgeous Busted, the latest teen rock'n'roll wannabes to hit the UK music scene, came on, blasting out with their single What I Go To School For.
Who cares if they hadn't even plugged in their electric guitars? They were hot.
Liberty X deserves best band performance honours. Stealing the show with their amazing end-of-night performance. Nicola, 16, said that it was the fact that Liberty X really wanted to connect with their audience that made them special:
"It's seeing if the bands acknowledge the fans, and Liberty X definitely did," said Nicola.
When the night came to an end a river of bodies bubbled out the doors still chatting excitedly and comparing notes on each band, their outfits and the line-up.
Clare, 16, said: "It was brilliant, really dancy and poppy and lively and you could get up and jump about."
However, Clare added: "Maybe they could have got a few more famous people, like Westlife."
Courtney, 16, said, "I really liked the Blazin' Squad, and it's not normally the kind of music I'm into."
About the team
This story was produced by Children's Express reporters Amanda McAteer, 15, Orlaith Wood and Amy Magowan Greene, 14. It was published in the News Letter in Northern Ireland.
