After announcing their split in April, popular boy band JLS embarked on their ‘Goodbye Tour’ in a bid to say a final farewell to their dedicated fans. Being one of very few bands to have sold out 5 consecutive shows at the London O2 arena, JLS planned to end their career in the very venue where it all began on XFactor, 2008.
Although emotional 20,000 fans took their seats in the arena as the penultimate show began. The support acts, Hatty Keane and NVS both brought their own styles to the stage, working up the crowd ready for JLS. However, the main support act, Mike Hough created a whole new atmosphere. Lighting up the entire arena with phone lights and glow sticks he really created a magical moment and showed to the crowd what looked like a promising start to a fantastic career.
The arena filled with hysterical screams as the lights dimmed and saw JLS members, Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, Oritsé Williams, and JB Gill running through the crowd. Smiling and waving to the fans the boy band began the set, performing an array of their best-selling hits. The night began with many of their upbeat songs, allowing fans to dance and sing along to the hits. It was as though the band was meant to be on stage performing as one and that the split was non-existent.
Throughout the whole evening the fans were constantly screaming, enjoying what for many was their last concert with the boy band, however the night was very emotional, with the boy band reminiscing back to songs from the first album, taking their fans on a journey through their career. The backdrops playing throughout the show that consisted of both memories and speeches really touched the whole crowd, showing how far the band had come since 2008 and what both the industry and fans would miss without them as a group.
As the show went on the emotions grew within the audience and reached a peak when JLS performed their final two songs. The boy band sang boys II men hit, End of The Road as their second to last song. This was when emotion hit the roof and looking around the arena you could clearly see many fans eyes full of tears. Not only was this an emotional time for the fans but also the group as you could hear their voices breaking up on the track, however they held strong and continued to perform as they went on to their well-known encore, Everybody In Love. It was evident that the band was grateful for everything the fans had given them through their speeches towards the end of the show.
“Most importantly I want to say thank you to each and every one of you guys in this arena tonight, because you truly made these four guys dreams a reality and for that we will forever be thankful from the bottom of our four hearts. We love you so much. We couldn’t have done anything without you, thank you so much.”
“We don’t want it to be a sad time tonight; we want it to be a celebration for the last incredible seven years. We love you guys”
With fans hugging throughout the arena, the venue filled up with blue, red, yellow and green confetti as the group took their final bow of the show. After thanking their dedicated fans all that was left was a long and emotional journey home.
Words and photography – Mollie Maddox
