Cher Lloyd @ HMV Institute, Birmingham – 7th April 2012

Cher Lloyd was in town on this Easter Saturday and I for one was interested to see how she would fare in a real concert setting. All the “brats” were there with their parents, and the bar was running out of Coca Cola. I was very pessimistic about Cher Lloyd before tonight as I’d heard alot of negative things about her but there is certainly nothing wrong with Lloyd’s voice. The fact is Cher is out tonight on her Sticks and Stones tour, following her very successful album featuring some very credible guests, such as Busta Rhymes. She has made all the right moves so far, who needs Stooshe when you’ve got Cher Lloyd?!

It was a nervy start. This was a fairly local gig for the girl from Malvern, so I’m sure she wanted it to be perfect. Then it happened – something went wrong backstage and out came the tears. This is precisely what the people don’t like about her, but it was alright after the shaky beginning.

Cher’s three-piece female band were there to back her up and a steep platform made sure everyone could see her. Lloyd was a little reserved at times (as always) but her voice was faultless. The set was a mixture of her songs. You can say what you like about X Factor manufactured music, but the majority of X Factor contestants who get through to the live show are at their prime when singing live.

A great variation of songs from Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” and Avril’s “Complicated”, which showcased her voice well, to some of her own material – “Over The Moon” and “With Your Love” notably with the help of pre recorded vocals but that didn’t matter. There wasn’t alot of rapping this evening however, but every song had a different vibe and feel to it, like the great rendition of “Breathing” by Justin Derulo. There was even a guitar solo for “End Up Here”!

By far the most vocally sound performance was an acoustic cover of Usher’s “OMG” and let’s not forget the infamous “Swagger Jagger” – that’s when things really started to liven up. I still have no clue what the backing dancers were doing – they seemed to be doing freestyle all the time but that didn’t take away anything from tonight.

So you’re left with the question, can the X Factor actually make stars? It may be neurotic but Syco has actually made Lloyd into a star. Now Cher has moved to Epic Records, she’s made it in the UK so shes moving on up to the US with a full marketing force behind her.

After the hour set and the encore, Cher’s third hit “Want U Back”, I had enjoyed a pleasant evening. The fact of the matter is that I could have listened to at least another hour of Cher, maybe next time she will bring a bigger and better support act too as Denis And Shanel aka SD-Jem were incredibly pants!

There were even a few Oasis-like singalong moments during Cher’s set. Who’d have thought it? Cher Lloyd the future of pop music or maybe even hiphop!

Review – John Kirby

Photos – Alex Dean

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1 thought on “Cher Lloyd @ HMV Institute, Birmingham – 7th April 2012

  1. glad you enjoyed cher mate! she was good that night, and yeah she could of rapped more! she was very good vocally though.. i was sat next to you at the gig 🙂 had a good night, but i enjoyed SDJEM! but a very good review never the less 🙂
    Follow me on twitter mate, @callumhaskew

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