Cody Simpson

“Welcome to Paradise,” are three words that will be resonating around the brains of crowds of young girls for a long time to come. Dubbed the ‘Australian Justin Bieber,’ on Friday March 1st Cody Simpson performed to hoards of screaming teenage fans at the Indig02 venue. With a set of impressive dance moves up his sleeve, including a brilliant James Bond inspired routine, it wasn’t long before pretty much everyone in the room was going deaf from the high pitched squeals (yes squeals) of delight from the audience.

Although a mention must first go to one Ebony Day who did a fantastic job opening up the show with a few fantastic covers of famous songs (including One Directions ‘Little Things’, and a take on Connor Maynard’s hit ‘Boys Boys Boys’). She had a superb, strong voice and really got everyone in the mood for the oncoming performance; she is definitely one to watch out for.

It’s rather hard to find many faults with the show as Cody gave perfect renditions of the songs on his album, which most people in the room were familiar with, as well as making time for a little improvisation of a Jack Johnson number. His guitar playing skills were certainly in the spotlight and he showed his professionalism when he kept playing despite a rogue bra from the audience getting stuck on it during his performance of ‘Got Me Good.’

I certainly enjoyed the evening as a whole. Cody showed remarkable talent whether in singing, dancing or guitar playing and put on a brilliant performance for his adoring fans. For me the only critical perspective that I can take is that of him being a little too similar to Justin Bieber. A few aspects of the performance were very much like the Biebs so it might be nice to see him distancing himself from that and really coming into his own. Nevertheless, anyone who can sing well and dance well without getting out of breath deserves a medal, and that I shall give in the form of 4 stars!