Leigh-Anne’s solo career has taken off since Little Mix began their current hiatus in 2022, and this intimate performance at Manchester’s New Century Hall suggested there’s much more to come from the star.
Her latest singles have seen her reconnect with her Jamaican and Bajan roots, and she told fans at this gig that she feels she has “bared all” with her new style of music.
The Manchester concert was an intimate performance in a venue that could only hold up to 1300 people – this made the experience much more personal and special to all the fans of the incredible singer.
Touching again on her tour being about ‘honesty and vulnerability’ she spoke about her long-distance relationship and the troubles and advantages that come alongside it which promoted her new EP ‘No Hard Feelings’, about her perfectly imperfect love story.
To begin the night supporting artist Mnelia performed an upbeat set.
The up-and-coming R&B artist set the tone for the night with her popular song “Say Yeah” which gave her significant exposure as a performer in 2020.
After that it was time for the main event, Leigh-Anne, who had the audience gripped from the very beginning starting with her popular new track ‘Don’t Say Love’.
She also performed more of her new hits, such as ‘Forbidden Fruit’, ‘OMG’, ‘Nature’, ‘Anticipate’ and finally her popular song ‘My Love.’
As well as her own tracks, she performed heartfelt takes on other artists’ songs, such as Doja Cat’s ‘Paint the Town Red’ and SWV’s ‘Weak’.
A costume change was soundtracked by a pre-recorded spoken word poem about her struggles and eventual happiness. The speech hinted to her kids and husband with her saying she ‘feels like she has already won’. This caused quite a reaction from the crowd and was an emotional ordeal. The poem led into the song “I’ll still be there”.
During this track a fan project took place: as Leigh-Anne very beautifully and elegantly began singing the crowd took out A4 pieces of paper which said: “We’ll still be here, we’re not leaving.” The project got to Leigh-Anne and she momentarily stopped singing as she shed a tear. Emotions were high throughout the whole show, especially as this is her first solo tour and she is the first of the Little Mix group to do it.
To embrace where she came from she performed a selection of Little Mix songs including ‘Woman Like Me’ and ‘Sweet Melody’. This for me was incredible and really elevated the night. As a huge fan of Little Mix it was a beautiful reminder that the band are just on a hiatus and that they have not split forever.
As this was her last show of the tour she took photos and TikToks with the audience making us feel a part of this crazy solo journey she is embarking on.
The only downfall of this intimate concert for me was nothing to do with Leigh-Anne, but the fans. Because the venue was so small for most of the concert all you could see was a sea of phones filming the artist.
It did make it difficult to see her at times – especially when she was dancing and doing floor work.
However, as a life long Little Mixer, this concert was everything. It was filled with highs and lows and was very raw. For an artist to share all of that with her audience it felt incredible to be a part of.
This concert was a huge hit but I have a feeling this is only the beginning for Leigh-Anne and there is much more to come.
