By Nooreen Kara

Hammersmith Palais , London - 15 January 2005

If you think rowdy hip-hop concerts are bad enough, wait until you’ve experienced a Choice FM Junior Jam. Yes they’re for under 18s and yes, 90% of the audience are female; but often that’s the worst combination possible – bitch-slapping, bitchy pushing and general bitching is all the norm, but with that always comes a pretty damn hyped up crowd. That is exactly what the 1500-plus youngsters were as they packed into the sold-out Hammersmith Palais ready to ‘1, 2 Step’ to headlining act Ciara and sway to the rhythmic vocals of Houston.

First up was upcoming UK talent Kano, performing his underground hit ‘P’s & Q’s’ and the new single ‘Typical Me’. What a reception this boy got – at just 19 years of age, Kano is 2005’s ‘one-to-watch’ on both the grime and mainstream scenes. Also onstage were Keisha White, Wiley and new unsigned talent including Kaper MC, Lyracis and Funky DL. A special surprise guest was announced, and UK R&B star Lemar came onstage to thank all of the Choice FM listeners for their love before giving a crisp rendition of ‘50/50’.

While this was a chance to see both some of the hottest live acts around, it was also a chance to hang out with the Choice FM DJs who, in between PAs, kept everyone entertained. As per usual, everyone was screaming at host Wayne Rollins to call out Kat and Masterstepz – Kat for his remarkable humour and Stepz for… well if you have ever seen a picture, you’ll understand. Much to everyone’s relief, the pair appeared mid-way through the show, immediately setting about their usual business – Kat provided us with a freestyle that remixed Lethal B’s ‘Forward’: “It’s the K-A-T, POW!” Meanwhile, Stepz, knowing he is too good looking for anyone to even try to disagree, harshly dissed down this overexcited girl for “jumping like a geezer”.

Joint main act Ciara was up and seemed to get everyone crunkin’ as the Atlanta native performed hits from her debut album, including the UK and US No.1 ‘Goodies’ and next single ‘1, 2 Step’. Her performance? Ten out of ten for dancing. If you’re talking singing, well that I can’t judge as she mimed the whole set.

Houston then took to the stage while his dancers performed fancy tricks and Jazze Pha blared from the speakers: “Introducing… Houston!” Now, I am possibly one of this cat’s biggest UK fans but even I have to criticise him. I met Houston back in September but since then he has put on a hefty amount of weight and can’t have shaved in days. For many of his fans, this was the first time seeing him live; in the least, you would think he would be trying to make a decent impression.

What’s more, he changed his lyrics onstage to do with his d*ck, bitches and hotel rooms – fine if it was a club night, but there were children as young as nine in the audience and it was 4pm; surely he should have known better. By now, everyone will have heard what has supposedly happened in Houston’s London hotel room, and unfortunately for him, it certainly didn’t involve either of those other two things mentioned. There have been rumours of manic depression and PCP addictions – whether or not any of these are actually true and the reasons for Houston’s less than impressive display, I don’t know. I honestly feel sorry for this guy, anyone who’s heard his debut album knows he has vocal talent but the boy left nothing in this crowd except disappointment.

A final routine performance by the Choice FM dancers brought back the high levels of excitement giving a stunning display to OutKast’s ‘Ghetto Musick’ – special mention to ladies’ man Gianno who, as usual, looked fine as hell and got an unbelievable reception from the females in the crowd. On this occasion, it was probably the UK acts that outshone the Americans, but every teen will still be looking out for more hot names on Choice FM’s next bill.

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