Good vibes, comedy and great talent is the immediate thing you are greeted with at ILUVLIVE. Having settled into the venue, Queen Of Hoxton, host Littleman took to the stage with his natural charm to introduce the first act. With the amazingly talented band, consisting of keyboard player, drummer and bass player, they really bring it together in a way that would leave many other bands a little intimidated by their creativity. Miikz, being last week’s open mic winner, entered the stage with a humble presence, dedicating the cover of Stevie Wonders' 'Ribbon in the Sky' to his wife, whom he recently married. With his story told, and dedication made, Miikz proved he was worthy to cover this classic love song. Ianna Love was the other open mic winner to take the stage. Blessed with ample beauty and style, the crowd were on her side from the start. Opening with a self-penned number, the band took a few moments to gather the correct music. Ianna seized control effortlessly improvising, keeping the audience entertained.

Feeling the obvious amount of emotion and love within the air, Littleman forced the band to liven the crowd up with some upbeat music. Naturally the band immediately showed their talent and level of skill, instantly giving the people some LIVE music to set the scene for the next artist to perform. Lil' Simz (pictured) oozed confidence, as she walked onto the stage introducing herself as a 16-year old, doing her exams and taking time out to follow her passion for music. Having worked alongside UK artists such as Sway, Tinie Tempah and N-Dubz, the expectation of Lil' Simz would be of course high. Entering with a warm up rhyme, the audience notice her obvious star quality. Her next performance had Lil' Simz ‘requesting’ (try demanding) the audience to respond back, shouting ' artist!' whenever prompted. It worked well and the crowd responded in time, keeping things moving and vibrant. Try clearly wanted more from this talented young female rapper. The audience showed their appreciation as she made her exit. Lil’ Simz is obviously a star in the making.

Lafayette Josephs was next to claim her shine, asking the audience if they can relate to having a 'friend situation', where it’s obvious they want more. With the crowd roped in, the scene was set appropriately to cater to her first song, titled 'Enough'. With her enthusiastic but emotional performance, her backing singers also held their position with their complimenting smooth voices. The band’s own bass player entered with a solo, giving an impressive number to assist and lead on nicely to the next song 'Bruised'. Supporters in the audience could be heard saying this was their favourite of Lafayette’s songs and after hearing the song it was apparent why. Lafayette shone without a doubt connecting with her heart felt songs. A powerful and determined young singer, one to keep an eye on me thinks.

Following such an emotional selection of love songs, an artist who could lift the audiences' spirits was much needed. Rian Peters, with his stylish attire along with a seductive charm had some of the females in the audience lost for words. His soft R&B voice, with a silky coat, definitely had the girls excited. His performance ultimately had many of the ladies feeling the connection as he chose to interact intimately, pointing and stealing a seductive glance as he sang his upbeat songs. Even I did not know where to look at times, as he pointed and smiled every word like it was his last - a very interesting performer and definitely one to watch.

UK rap heavyweight Stylah (pictured) entered the stage, hyping the audience and keeping them vibrant and alert in preparation for his performance. With a cover of Mr Hudson’s, ‘Forever Young’, Stylah ended with a memorable improvised rap, quoting something from letters A-Z. Clever, but as the crowd grew agitated, they allowed him to finish and a confident rap artist shone through.

The headline act Ebru, made a colossal entrance with so many band members, taking up the whole stage. Host, Littleman was excited to introduce the band, anticipating their performance. 'The war which you have with your heart and your mind during love is a hard battle’; with those introductory lyrics I was most definitely ready to hear what she was talking about. Blowing the roof off with her energetic persona, her voice and accompanying band not only compliment her entertaining ways but also free styling with a jazz-tastic twist put the icing on the cake for Ebru. Definitely exciting to watch, visually reactive to her lyrics, making you believe her every word, you can’t help but tap along and enjoy. If all of that wasn't enough, her last song 'Fed Up Of Love', might be the reason someone in the audience would have a tear in their eye. A lot of emotion and a lot of entertainment, Ebru is definitely one to watch for 2010!

WORDS: FAIZA ARBOUCHE