After winning Britain’s Got Talent in 2014 and losing one of their members in 2016, Collabro came back better than ever for their third tour, ‘Home’. Collabro received a standing ovation with their version of ‘Stars’ after just one month of being together at the Hammersmith Apollo for their audition in front of the BGT judges 3 years ago. After that moment, there was no surprise that since then, they were going to go from strength to strength which they have done and more.
The most successful musical theatre group sold out the Poole Lighthouse, a venue which holds 2500 seats at it’s maximum. When they opened with the song ‘This is the Moment’ from Jekyll and Hyde, the Collaborators knew it really was going to be a moment to remember. The boys bought an extra spark of magic to the musical theatre songs with beautiful harmonies, a divine set list and the show was full of class.
The support act was ‘Philippa Hanna’, an independent music artist who supported Collabro on their second tour as well. Philippa sang whilst her husband Joel played percussion. The songs were engaging but quite repetitive at times, however, Philippa touched the audience by sharing her journey to get to the point she is at today. The set list Philippa Hanna had was fitting for Collabro’s audience and set them up well for when the boys came on stage. Overall, Philippa’s songs were feel good with some being pop and others having a country style feel to them.
Another guest following Collabro on their tour is Carly Paoli. Carly recently released her debut album, ‘Singing My Dreams’ and is known to be an upcoming star in the classical world. She joined Collabro for a few songs in their set, an iconic one being ‘Over the Rainbow’. Paoli fitted the harmonies well and bought a different aspect to the concert, overall being a complimenting addition to the show.
Throughout the show, fans were focused and drawn in by the band’s impressive vocals to musical theatre classics such as ‘Bui Doi’, ‘For Good’ and ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables’ and many more. Whilst also singing Disney favourites from the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. This show was my Spotify playlist but with the songs being taken up a massive notch with the exquisite vocals, it could be said that you could have heard a pin drop as the audience were captivated by the amazing singing seen before them.
One song that stood out was Collabro’s first original song ‘Lighthouse’ which is a single to raise money for the charity ‘Save the Children.’ The song has moving lyrics which will capture the hearts of so many and there were definitely a lot of tears and emotion in the venue whilst this was being performed.
In the later part of the show, the boys had an energetic set including songs such as ‘That’s Life’, ‘What a Night’ and other songs featured in Jersey Boys the Musical. The songs bought a great deal of energy and was uplifting, with the audience up on their feet dancing. The boys also had choreography which surprised the audience and also provided a lot of entertainment. The audience left on a high after being on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the course of the show, and being wowed with the vocals of all the songs.
Overall, I think every aspect about this tour is perfect. The venues they have picked suit the type of show and also their audience. The magic of the theatre is really highlighted through this show and so are the boy’s vocals, which are both key parts of the band’s values. From the support act, the featured guest and diverse yet wonderful set list, this show is one to remember and I would go as far to say it is the best concert I have ever seen. I have never been to a concert where I felt as connected with the band and also enjoyed every single one of the songs played, this is a rare thing to occur but it happened at this show. The audience were taken through feelings of friendship, love, happiness, sadness and nostalgia through the choice of songs and also with what the boys said and the displays on the screen behind them. I would highly recommend this show to anyone who loves musical theatre, Disney or a class act as this is what this is.
Collabro can be seen at venues up and down the UK until 2nd December 2018. Check their website for more details.