Jess Glynne at the 02 Arena

Things have moved quickly for Jess Glynne since her formidable vocals were featured on Clean Bandit’s Grammy Award-winning track Rather Be and Route 94’s My Love, in 2014. A mere two years later – and with a staggering five number one singles under her belt – she played at the 02 Arena to a crowd of 20,000 excitable fans.

To be headlining this venue after just one album is testament to the strength and wide appeal of the artist’s songs. And, after kicking things off with Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself it was quickly obvious that she would have no problem translating the vitality of these hits into her live performance.

At first, the crowd didn’t quite match the energy levels of the music, but by the time the first explosion of glitter was fired out at them, everyone was on their feet and happily dancing away to the infectious R&B and soul-pop that has made Glynne a star.

Early on in the night the Hampsted-born songstress broke out a cover of Beyoncé’s De Ja Vu. Covering the American singer-songwriter live is always a brave decision, but Glynne has just the voice for it: strong and distinctive, it’s perfectly suited to this number, which couldn’t have been a better choice for the live band, particularly with the accompanying trumpet, trombone and saxophone.

Glynne performed in front of giant screens, which displayed dazzling and almost distractingly good backing visuals, made up of footage from her even more enormous festival slots and more surreal images of her floating head singing and smiling. However, all eyes were on the real-life Jess Glynne as she belted out another of her ear-worm tracks, Right Here.

Slower songs were few and far between, but an emotional performance of Children in Need single Take Me Home gave the crowd a break from dancing, instead holding their phone lights up on her request, filling the stadium with light and illuminating the faces of the captivated fans in the stands.

There was just enough time for the audience to regain their energy for the finale. Finishing as she started with a lively and polished performance of one of her many hit singles – this time the infectious Hold My Hand – Glynne had the crowd dancing until the very end.

Joanna Blyth

For further information about Jess Glynne and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Aint Got Far to Go here: