Hits Radio Live returned to Manchester Arena for the second time this year, bringing eight superstar acts along with them.
The three-and-a-half-hour long show captivated the audience from start to finish with its huge range of acts, to a once in a lifetime opportunity to win a holiday to America.
James Hype massively lived up to his last name, getting every member of the 13,000 strong audience on their feet within a matter of seconds of him stepping foot on stage.
Perhaps the most memorable moment of his 15 minutes set was when Wonderwall suddenly sounded around the arena and there wasn’t a Manc in there that wasn’t singing along with their flashlight held high.
For his last song he welcomed special guest Kelli Leigh onto the stage to perform the song of the summer More Than Friends.
X Factor 2017 winners Rak-Su came out to huge crowd reaction as they performed I Want You to Freak, a popular play on Hits Radio.
The extremely talented James Arthur lowered the tempo for the next ten minutes with a tear-jerking performance of Say You Won’t Let Go, as well as show casing his incredible voice with Naked and his X-Factor 2012 winner’s single Impossible.
Boyband The Vamps graced the stage as a three-piece as fourth member James takes on the jungle in I’m A Celeb. Addressing the fact that they were one-member short, front man Brad Simpson asked the audience if they were “Team James” to which he was met with a thunderous response.
They went on to perform their new singles, Just My Type and Cheap Wine, as well as treating fans to a throwback of their first single Can We Dance.
Manny it was lovely to be back ☺️ last gig of the year, and it was a beaut x pic.twitter.com/apxdMMK5NZ
— Bradley Will Simpson (@TheVampsBrad) November 25, 2018
With her signature dance troop behind her, Cheryl gave by far the most energetic performance of the night. In between performing her most well-known singles, Call My Name and Fight for This Love, she thanked Manchester for welcoming her back.
Her set ended with a bang, literally, as she fell to the floor and fireworks shot up.
When headline act Little Mix took to the stage they were met with confusion from the audience as only three of them were there.
After a vibrant performance of Touch, Jesy went on to say: “Can we give a special shout out to our girl Jade for not being here.”
I Manchester!
— Cheryl (@CherylOfficial) November 25, 2018
Fans took to Twitter to speculate about Jade’s absence, some citing ‘a family emergency’ as the reason why, with others saying she is struggling being apart from her boyfriend, The Struts’ Jed Elliott.
Hits Radio breakfast hosts Gemma, Gethin and Dave took to the stage to announce Hits Radio Live 2019 will be at Manchester Arena on Sunday November 17 2019.
