Review: Chris Brown, Trent FM Arena By Mike Atkinson

HE'S still only in his teens, but R&B's latest and hottest superstar hascome a long way since making his UK chart debut, almost exactly three years ago.

And on the second night of his first overseas stadium tour, this small town boy made good couldn't afford to be complacent as he faced the challenge of building a live reputation here from scratch.

On the evidence of last night's 90-minute, hugely entertaining show, he won't have much to worry about.

As the opening song Wall To Wall got under way, and the ten-strong dance troupe began to strut their stuff, it became clear this would be more of a visual spectacle than a conventional concert. Apart from the drummer and the DJ, all of the music was pre-recorded, including all of the backing vocals, and even some of Brown's lead vocals.

If he had been any less of a performer, we could have been looking at an embarrassing flop. Thankfully, he possessed enough charisma and energy to carry the show virtually single-handedly.

Just as corniness was threatening to take over, Brown brought on his secret weapon. To gasps of astonished delight, his girlfriend Rihanna casually strolled on stage singing the opening lines to her own smash hit Umbrella. The couple performed it as a duet, with Brown adding some new lines and even his own chorus: "You can be my Cinderella, ella, ella…"

The surprises didn't stop there. A few minutes later, Brown and two of his male dancers re-appeared at the back of the main floor, hidden under a tarpaulin. This was whipped away to reveal a flimsy disc-shaped performing area, which was then winched halfway to the roof, as fireworks fizzed beneath it.

From then on, it was a sprint to the end, Brown belting out a sequence of his hits and saving his biggest, Forever, for the encore.