A Review of Girls Aloud's "What Will the Neighbours Say?" Tour

The majority of people in the United States do not know who Girls Aloud is. While Girls Aloud (comprised of Sarah, Nicola, Nadine, Cheryl, and Kimberley) is a thriving girl-group over in the United Kingdom, they are invisible in America. They are basically 2007's Spice Girls; they have released several albums, DVDs, clothing items, and other fan merchandise. They have also gone on three different sold-out tours--the most recent will end in August. They have released their first two tours on DVD, and also on CD. In concert, they show that they have what it takes to hold up the songs on their own-without help from digital enhancement.

Their first tour, which was titled "What Will The Neighbours Say?" after their second album, was a smash hit. Not only did they sing live, but they had a live band follow them to all of their spots on their tour. They performed in 24 theatres, during 30 dates. Each concert was a success. I am writing in particular about the performance at Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in London.

The lineup starts with "The Show," and the girls are sure to greet the crowd. They speak to the crowd many times during the tour, which always rouses up cheers from the mostly 14-year old concert-goers. In particular, Sarah is the most vocal (this is a trend; she talks during most every live performance that the Girls give). The song goes right into the next, "Here We Go," which is almost something you would expect to hear on a spy movie.

They pull off some wonderful covers. Nicola steals the show during "Teenage Dirtbag," a cover of the Wheatus song. It is a poppy version of a punk song, though there are some rock guitars added in for effect. The male backup dancers come out near the end to sing a verse, which adds a nice touch. During the tour, you can feel a chemistry between Girls Aloud and the dancers, which makes the choreography much more fluid. The Girls also do a remake of "Le Freak, C'est Chic," which is accompanied by some disco dancing. Cheryl wins the dance-off, much to Kimberley's chagrin.

They end the show with "Jump," but do an encore with "Sound of the Underground." The last song has virtually no dancing, and is simply them singing one of their first hits. The lights are down for this song, which adds the perfect mood to the end of the night. As they are exiting the stage, you hear the crowd cheering; you can almost feel the excitement of the room.

You can tell that they go out of their way to please their fans. They seem to genuinely have fun, and you can definitely tell that their audience is enjoying themselves. Their simple stages (they only have one backup dancer per girl) and stylish costumes, along with their perfect dancing, simply compliment their natural singing talent. Together, it is a five-star concert.