Eilidh: Live at the Fan's Choice Awards V

When her name is announced, there's a loud cheer from the fans in attendance that rips and echoes loudly throughout the arena, creating a tidal wave of sound that crashes down on the darkened stage violently, a reality sure to make anyone standing backstage ready to perform feel more than just a little nervous about what they're about to face. The reaction of the audience to the young pop star's mere name is clear indication of how hotly anticipated this moment was. The world had been waiting for a long time for Eilidh to bring out a debut solo single, and the slow build, coupled with the range of work she had done with other artist's on collaborations had made the anticipation and excitement for her solo career just all the more tangible. The excitement in the arena at the moment is at fever pitch, for two reasons; for most people, the chance to see Eilidh perform for the first time and see her showcase her fantastic powerful voice which belies her mannerisms is excitement enough, and for anyone else, the thought that ditzy little Eilidh might provide the viral video moment of the century with a fantastically awful failure on stage is just too good to miss. After a brief silence on the stage, the stage lights start to come on slowly, and the crowd cheers again, before a sudden burst of glitter emanates with a pop from each corner of the stage, showering the crowd in a glittery, shiny rainfall. At that moment, a banner unfurls and falls at the back of the stage, at long last revealing the single cover for Eilidh's debut, which also serves as the backdrop for tonight's performance.



After the backdrop falls, there's another brief pause, obviously inserted to ramp up the excitement and anticipation for the performance once again. But just then, from the empty stage, a puff of smoke rises in the very centre, before being joined by another little puff of sparkles and glitter which bursts from the same centre stage point. The crowd cheer again as the smoke dissipates across the stage, leaving it populated by just one tiny figure stood in the middle of the stage, an infectious beaming smile on her face as she looks out. The very second the crowd sees Eilidh stood there, a high-pitched scream of delight rips across the arena loudly again and causes Eilidh to raise her eyebrows in surprise. She could barely believe that such a wonderful reception had been reserved for her. Dressed in knee high sexy white boots, a short silver skirt and a matching crop top, she looks every inch the stunning pop star everyone has wanted her to be for so long.

But is there a problem? With no music accompanying her yet, Eilidh almost looks a little lost in the middle of the stage alone. She stands there for a second or two in the glaring spotlight which rains down on her, exposing her to the crowd and leaving most people feeling, certainly in a situation like this, vulnerable and alone. But not Eilidh, she just laps it up, blissfully unaware that there may even be a problem at all, and she stands there in the middle of the stage with her fantastic pop star outfit on, looking out across the crowd with her favourite blank stare, before she waves at everyone and smiles. It's hard to tell if she could see someone she knew or she was simply waving at everyone who was cheering for her at the moment. Just when it seems like the moment of Eilidh alone might have gone on a little too long, she puts her hand to her ear and nods quickly, before a troop of backing dancers start to fan onto the stage, encircling Eilidh entirely until she can barely be seen. One approaches her and says something into her ear, to which Eilidh nods and shuffles back a few steps. She had obviously not stood on the right mark when she arrived on stage. The crowd cheer again as the stage lights dim a little. Was this all set up? It's hard to know for sure, but everyone seems excited by the whole experience.

There's not much of a moment to think about the authenticity of the intro, however, because just a few seconds after the dancers arrive and the lights dim, the music kicks in. With a brass intro provided by trumpets, the catchy intro booms out over the audience as the dancers break out from their starting places. On the very first note, the dancers break free from their circle, bursting out across the stage in different directions like a dandelion being carried off in the wind. This leaves Eilidh alone once again in the spotlight. But something's changed. From the very first moment the music begins, Eilidh's expression changes. For what might be the first time in her life, there's a focus in her eyes, a confidence and a real determination. As the intro plays, Eilidh stands in the centre with one hand raised in the air, moving her hips rhythmically in time with the music as she smiles seductively into the camera giving a little giggle which she hides behind her hand as she gets ready to sing, the camera zooming in on her. This is an Eilidh so far removed from the stupid little girl most people think she is. She has an all-new confidence that belies everything everyone has ever known about her. It's empowering and exciting, and the mere sight of Eilidh swaying and dipping her hips is enough to send the crowd into raptures.



When the song kicks in for real and the intro ends, the stage is bathed in a striking light blue light, and at that very second, Eilidh turns to stare into one of the side cameras, blowing a little kiss towards it, before she starts to stride purposefully towards the front of the stage, raising the microphone to her mouth and letting her immensely powerful voice break free for the first time tonight. As she sings the first upbeat, happy verses of the song, she walks towards the front of the stage with real confidence, flanked by her dancers all the way as she raises a hand and takes some high steps as the pace of the verse slows towards the end. In the gap between the two verses, she hits a little jump step, her choreography proving as flawless as her voice, the lights changing to bathe the performer in a different glorious colour with each time her feet connect with the stage. Dressed as she is, Eilidh looks every bit the pop star, and no matter what anyone expected to see tonight, it was like the music had brought Eilidh some change in her mindset, and suddenly she wasn't that silly little girl people thought she was all the time. Now she looked so confident and flawless, the perfect pop performance so far as she struts confidently and dances perfectly throughout the opening verses.

Friends say lock him down, lock him, lock him, lock him down
Girls wanna have him now, have him, have him, have him now
Friends say lock him down, lock him, lock him, lock him down
Girls wanna have him now, have him, have him, have him now

The shoe doesn't fit, I'm not your Cinderella
I'll never be the one and I think it's time I tell ya
Stop dealing out cards when I don't know the game
Save it for your queen who'll know exactly how to play
I guess I found a good one at the wrong time
But my heart isn't in it so I'm gonna have to decline

At the end of the second verse of the song, a short interlude akin musically to the intro of the song plays on a loud brass section again, this time slower and more seductive than it was in the very start of the song, giving Eilidh and her dancers a chance to really flaunt their stuff. As she's flanked by two muscle-bound male dancers, the stage lights go dimmer and Eilidh stands between them, one hand on each of their shoulders as they bow to her, and she rolls her hips, first one side, then they other, sexily and slowly. There's a real swagger and attitude in her dancing that really shows how much she loves being on stage. Her performance was something no one would have ever expected from Eilidh, but the sexual overtones and the skilled timing and execution from the tiny star sends the crowd into raptures, cheering and yelling for her as she never misses a beat in her choreography. It's immediately evident how long and hard the young American has been working for this moment, and there's no way she's about to let her biggest chance to grab the spotlight pass her by. When the bridge finishes, there's a second where all that can be heard is three drum beats, one after the other, on which Eilidh stamps a foot each time and then raises her hand in the air, bringing more cheering yet again from the crowd.



The chorus, when it kicks in, is at a much slower pace than the upbeat, fast and happy verse, and it really allows Eilidh to show off that stunning voice she's got stored away. Turning her back and winking over her shoulder into the camera, she starts to walk towards the back of the stage slowly, raising her knee high on each step, in time with the music as she beautifully, flawlessly belts out the chorus of the song, which is instantly memorable and catchy. The high notes are designed to showcase the voice that Eilidh has hidden away for too long while the long drawn out lines of the chorus allow her to really show everyone the skill she has in pop delivery. Eilidh reaches the back of the stage just as the chorus comes to its crescendo, and as she sings through the last line of the chorus, namechecking Cupid, she stops and brings her free hand from her side, sliding all the way up her torso and her face before she raises it high above her head, giving her hips a little shake from side to side in time with the music. When she mentions Cupid, on cue, two oversized sparkling arrows fly in an arc from just beside Eilidh, high over her head. When the arrows collide high above the stage, they both burst into balls of glitter, once again raining down on the stage and the surrounding crowd.



At the same moment when the arrows collide symbolically above her head, Eilidh smiles and gives the camera yet another little seductive smile. The twinkle in her eye shows just how much the young singer is really enjoying herself up there on the stage. It's clear to see that this is where Eilidh is supposed to be as the beautiful glitter rains down on her and washes over her, landing perfectly in her hair and across her shoulders. At the same second the arrows hit each other, however, a group of the muscly backing dancers fall to the ground around Eilidh, dropping to their knees in a semi circle at her feet. She looks down at them as the bridge plays before the next verse and then taps a finger against her chin as if she's thinking intently, mulling something over. She winks into the camera and then shakes her head, stamping one of her long white boots down on the stage, which sends the dancers falling backwards as a red light bathes the stage and everyone on it. The visual is intensely impressive, and once again, the crowd cheer loudly. It was strange to see Eilidh so powerful and empowered, but she really did look so fantastic and so perfectly at home up on stage as she delivered a performance that really had to be seen to be believed for her - no one would have expected this.

When the next verse starts, Eilidh puts one hand intently on her hip as she raises her microphone, singing with real confidence and style now. She has a smile on her face that looks impossible to wipe off. It was clear that she was enjoying this moment more than anything, and no one could stop her from having a good time up there on stage. She was made for the stage and anyone in attendance could see that tonight. As she starts to sing, the backdrop falls from the back to show off a large screen, which has a massive pink heart on it. Eilidh's vocals start just as the heart breaks in two and falls in half, symbolic of her destroying her dancers a few seconds before, and as she brushes off her shoulders, she once more starts to strut towards the front of the stage. As she walks, singing, one cameraman gets too close to Eilidh, and in a break in the line of the song, she grabs the camera, kissing it full on the lens and giggling at the big lip print she leaves on the end of the lens. As she makes her way through the verse, she walks to the front, standing on the edge of the stage and walking along, dancers behind her in a line as she grins and waves to the people in the front row who are screaming out Eilidh's name and reaching out in vain towards her.

Friends say lock him down, lock him, lock him, lock him down
Girls wanna have him now, have him, have him, have him now
Friends say lock him down, lock him, lock him, lock him down
Girls wanna have him now, have him, have him, have him now

When you wrap me in your arms I feel so safe
There's nothing else quite like your warm embrace
But I can't give you the time, it's not fair this way
One last kiss before I let you go and watch you fly away
It was never meant to be and we can blame Cupid's aim.

At the end of what is the last verse of the song, Eilidh smiles and turns to the crowd before walking back to the centre of the stage. She turns and blows a kiss, dropping down to the floor slowly and seductively coming back to full height as she writhes and slithers, almost serpentine in her actions. If it had been anyone else in the world, it would have looked incredibly sexual and exciting, but on Eilidh it still looked a little weird to see her acting so sexy, when she was never really portrayed that way at all. As she stands in the middle of the stage, all dancers now gone, Eilidh is bathed in the spotlight once more, before the lights fade a little and the music slows down considerably. The last verse of the night is a much slower version than what was heard before, so the lights going darker help to herald the arrival of the final hurrah of the track. Eilidh stands there with her eyes fixed on the camera as she waits for the last bridge to end. Her stare is intense, almost predator like as she portrays the powerful woman that she's singing about throughout the song perfectly.

When the final chorus starts, Eilidh looks from side to side, lifting her free hand and seductively beckoning the dancers towards her with one finger as she sings through the chorus. Her powerful voice has changed tact a little in this final chorus, however. Unlike the belting and powerful force it was earlier in the song, at this point it rally does help to show off her whole range as she trades power for a more downplayed, subtle and smouldering style that really helps to bring out the seductive love theme of the track absolutely perfectly. As the dancers crawl closer, Eilidh turns to look at them, side to side, as if trying to banish them with her eyes, almost looking afraid as they, the personification of lust and love, move ever closer to her. As she reaches the stunningly delivered last line of the chorus, which again returns to that powerful voice she displayed at the start of the track, Eilidh looks like she almost gives in from trying to resist the dancers, something that the change in her voice alludes to as well. As they reach her, she puts her hand above her head again, closing her eyes as her dancers hands run up the outside of her thighs, then up the side of her torso and onto her shoulders.



As she sings the final word of the chorus, the dancers with their hands on Eilidh's shoulders suddenly start to tug and pull her down to the floor, until all of a sudden she can no longer be seen, inside what is almost a ball of muscle and oil. The dancers, now dressed in little cupid style wings, are completely hiding her from view at this point, and there's that brief moment of silence, before the light comes back, intense and white, washing across the stage, and the dancers burst back to life. As quickly as they engulfed Eilidh, they suddenly have the pint-sized princess hoisted up on their shoulders, effortlessly and flawlessly choreographed, as the rest of her performance has been so far tonight. As Eilidh sits above them, perched on the shoulders of two dancers, she beams out across the crowd before delivering the final line of the song.

Friends say lock him down, lock him, lock him, lock him down

she sings the last line with a big smile on her face, and as she delivers the final word of the track, the big screen behind her comes back to life once again. This time, the two sides of the heart that had fallen apart earlier in the night come back together at pace, crashing into each other to become a whole once more. At the second the two sides collide, more glitter, clearly a favourite material of Eilidh's erupts from the stage, this time fired out of two large cannons at each side of the stage, sending a cloud of pink glitter out across the crowd and into the farthest reaches of the arena effortlessly. At this stunning crescendo, the crowd starts to cheer loudly for Eilidh who still sits tall above the dancers, out of breath but with a bigger smile than you could ever imagined plastered across her face. This was a special night for Eilidh for sure. For years she has been ridiculed as nothing more than a silly little girl who happened to have a good voice, but tonight she proved that her long awaited arrival as a solo artist had very much been worth the wait. Her flawless choreography and perfect delivery was so on point it was hard to believe it was even Eilidh, and the crowd are lapping up a performance that, tonight, may have launched a brand new star.



When the crowd start to cheer and call her name, Eilidh's smile changes a little, almost like the end of the song made her return to "normal Eilidh" and she starts wave intensely towards everyone out in the crowd. It was like the start of the song brought her focus and determination that allowed her to be more smart than normal, giving her a purpose and a chance to prove herself that she was not going to miss, whereas the end of the song just meant she went back to being the sweet little Eilidh that everyone seemed to love. She smiles again and giggles a little before she raises the microphone. "Thank you so much this is the best day in all my life!" she yells, before blowing the crowd one last kiss as the stage goes dark. Just then, from the darkness comes Eilidh's voice one last time. "I can't see where I'm supposed to be going," she says into her microphone, sending a ripple of laughter through the crowd. They really loved her tonight.