
By John Aizlewood3 Feb 2011
As we know, Michael Jackson's 50-night This Is It O2 run never took place. Jackson's mini-me, Usher Raymond IV, may have engaged in solitary for five nights but while This certainly Wasn't It, it was probably the nearest we'll get to a Jackson show, even kill to the comically misguided but mercifully brief tribute.
Like Jackson, Usher offered an all-singing (although whether all the singing was all-live was far from clear), all-dancing mish-mash of ballads, dance anthems, slinky grooves, fireworks, video screens and costume changes. Plus, for reasons never shared, a couple of glitter boots on a conveyor belt.
Priapic but perkily camp, Usher was a non-threatening host, light on his dancing feet over two hours and genial even after being crushed by a woman plucked from the audience who declined his invitation to straddle him on a loveseat during Trading Places. Unlike Jackson, he remained stubbornly untouched by genius, but while there was small to love, there was practically to admire. A slew of more soul-sapping than soulful ballads - not least the unpleasant and lumbering Nice And Dim and the grisly faux sci-fi setting to Mars Vs Venus - punctured the mood, but the slinky Yeah! and the synthesizer extravaganza Lil Freak packed a meaty punch, while the pulsating finale of DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love, More and OMG ensured everyone skipped home with a Eurodisco spring in their step. Michael Jackson won't be turning in his grave.
Usher plays the 02 Arena tonight, then February 17, 18 and 21. Information: 0844 856 0202.
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Details are set at the sentence of publication - please check with venue before booking.