After winning Popstars The Rivals, having 2 hit albums and having 8 top 5 singles - it was time for Girls Aloud to hit the road and tour the UK. They started out in theatres, and this concert from the Hammersmith Apollo in London was the result. Absolute brilliance.
Since what's on the DVD isn't mentioned on this page, I'll put it here before I do my review:
Live Concert
01. The Show
02. Here We Go
03. Girls On Film
---Another Brick In The Wall Interlude---
04. No Good Advice
05. Graffiti My Soul
06. Wake Me Up
07. Teenage Dirtbag
---Interlude---
08. Life Got Cold
09. Deadlines & Diets
10. I'll Stand By You
---Dancers Interlude---
11. Love Machine
12. Real Life
13. Girls Allowed/Le Freak
14. Jump
---Interlude---
15. Sound Of The Underground
+ "Long Hot Summer" video & behind the scenes footage
Interview
Picture galleries
Ok, so now you know what's on the DVD. Onto my review.
Anybody who ever said Girls Aloud couldn't sing needs to watch this DVD and then take back what they said. The girls prove, without a doubt, that they can belt out a tune and show why they won a talent show. This is only their first tour, but they act like they'e been doing it for years. All the songs are standouts but the girls especially shine on "Life Got Cold" during the ballad section - Nadine and Sarah's adlibbing on this track is to die for, they show off their pipes. The whole entire last set before the finale song is pure brilliance - especially "Real Life." The version on their second album is poppy but the girls have given it a salsa twist in this live performance, complete with fun dance routine. "Girls Allowed" is also loads of fun, it has a "Le Freak" breakdown in the middle where Sarah and Nadine take the vocals while Nicola, Cheryl and Kimberley do a little dance with their backup dancers, each girl trying to outdo the other until Cheryl shows them all up and Kimberley sulks about losing. The girls bravely tackle a cover of Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag" which works very well, with the lyrics changed to relate to girls - they keep the rocky element, get to rock out a bit and get the audience on their feet. "Here We Go" is another favourite of mine, it's the second song of the show and is another great rock track. The girls do a saucy routine and Cheryl and Kimberley take centre stage. There isn't one bad track during this 15 track show, and "Sound Of The Underground," the closer, is just as good as ever, and has a James Bond theme sounding dance breakdown in the middle. The crowd is pumped up and screams and shouts like crazy for the whole thing (especially loudly during Sarah and Kimberley's screaming contest), and keeps the vibe going well.
The main draw of the DVD is the concert but there's other little extras too, the best of these being the interview. The girls are interviewed about random topics separately - they ask them questions like what their fave kind of icecream is, what the best thing about being in Girls Aloud is and how they like touring. The girls' answers are cute and funny. Also included is the "Long Hot Summer" video, the first single from the Chemistry album. This video is saucy and fun with the girls working in a garage - they get hot so they strip off to tiny outfits and dance around. There's also a short behind the scenes look at the video (my fave bit of it is when Nicola says her shorts are getting smaller as she walks LOL).
One of the most unique things about the DVD is the way it's set out - the girls are in a house with all separate rooms. When you click to go to different sections like the concert setlist or the extras, you see a room with one of the girls in it. Each room has a problem you have to solve - like in Kimberley's part she turns on the bath and doesn't turn it on. You have to click on the bath to turn it off - Cheryl comes in and turns it off. You have to do this for each room of the house, and after you're finished you unlock some extras like screensavers and a little video about how they made the DVD. It's quite cute and definitely a cool addition to the DVD.
Overall, this is definitely worth your money if you're a Girls Aloud fan. Loads of little things to discover, and a AWESOME live concert, this is definitely 5 stars!
This is a great concert dvd the songs are ace live and some are most different from the original cd recordings. There are also attractive male dancers on there! girls alouds make up is a little extreme but thats what concerts are about. Definitely buy this if you like girls aloud and their music cos its a great concert dvd and has bonus faetures on the dvd disc too! my favourite concert dvd yet. Also i know ever song on there cos i own their first two albums which they all appear on, apart from teenage dirtbag which is a cover song done especially for the concert.
