Cheryl- A Million Lights at the O2

Yesterday night I got blown away.

Holy Cow, does that sound rude? I don't care- I said it, it's out there- and I'm going to stick with it.

Yesterday I got blown away. AND IT WAS AMAZING.

You see,  I'm a soldier.

A soldier in the Cheryl army.

And right here and now I am pledging my allegiance because when I saw her A Million Lights tour at the O2 I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

And no, that's not because I'm a massive fan and I've got all three of her albums, her book and more Girls Aloud tracks on my iPod than you can shake a stick at.

It's because genuinely- What. A. Show.

I'll be honest- I've had a fair bit of stick over the years for being a Cheryl fan. 'But she can't sing' 'yea she looks amazing but she's got no talent'

Well sorry mate, if you'd seen her raise the roof at the O2 last night you'd be singing a different tune.

The stage production was faultless.

My sister (also a Soldier) told me Cheryl tweeted after that the roof was on fire. And HELL, YES IT WAS.
(Plus the crowd went a little bit mental at the beginning of 3 Words when she said something along the lines of 'I have a special friend to sing it with me' (I'm not quoting Verbatim, as to be honest, I couldn't hear above my own screams) and Will.i.am emerged) He was wearing some very cool shoes.

**********************************************************************************

You see, what I like most about Cheryl is that she's a fighter.

She's had more than her fair share of media scrutiny, public humiliation and, as the fashion critics say, 'off days'.

Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) I have serious self-doubts.

I look in the mirror and see a pig.

I go to work and think 'shit, they're going to find out I'm a big phoney on of these days, it's bound to happen, I'm not good enough, I'll never get this story right...'

I regularly wonder what my boyfriend sees in me.

But the uplifting nature of the A Million Lights tour- watching the girl from humble beginnings done good- who still has her Geordie accent and no doubt massive butterflies before hitting the stage- reminded me of something important.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Today's hot gossip is tomorrow's chip paper.

And you should never stop believing in yourself.

There were lots of young women and girls in the audience yesterday, and no doubt they had a cracking time.

But I hope they left with the uplifting feeling I did, too.

In times of trouble, you have to Keep Calm and Soldier On.

....And always make room for fabulous shoes.