Gigs & Nightlife

Review | Leigh-Anne at Albert Hall, Manchester – the best version of her

'Been A Minute' since her last Manc visit.

Thomas Melia - 9th April 2026

Leigh-Anne visits Manchester for her second gig since becoming a solo artist, dominating Albert Hall as part of her My Ego Told Me To Tour.

Opening with lines like ‘You want a revival?’, before commanding Manchester to ‘look into my eyes’ and ‘tell me what do you see’, Leigh-Anne isn’t just walking onto stage – she’s setting a precedent.

The start of the show sees the rebirth of Leigh-Anne, from former Little Mix member to solo pop act, and Dead and Gone helps deliver this with its powerful message.

The choruses are simple but impactful, especially when paired with harder hitting lines like ‘Five fingers to your face ’cause you know it slaps’, and ‘Can’t keep a good woman down’.

Leigh-Anne performing songs from her My Ego Told Me To Tour at Albert Hall, Manchester / Credit: The Manc Group

Don’t Say Love gives the Manchester crowd major Throwback Thursday energy (even though it’s Wednesday), taking fans right back to where it all started with her drum and bass-pop debut single.

As soon as the intro to Most Wanted starts, it awakens something in the crowd and the 2,000 capacity of Albert Hall Manchester intuitively get ready to bust a few moves.

This is a song that’s been on repeat for me since the album’s release and it certainly lives up to the high-energy of its studio recording in a live setting.

After hearing this track live and witnessing some of the shapes me and the crowd were throwing as a result, the song’s title makes a lot of sense – Sorry Mum.

Been A Minute is exhilarating with the “What you’re waiting for? / Put your back in it” background vocals courtesy of its Denise Belfon ‘Work’ sample.

Albert Hall in Manchester got to witness the 'Revival' of Leigh-Anne as she played her second gig as a solo artist last night / Credit: The Manc Group — Albert Hall in Manchester got to witness the ‘Revival’ of Leigh-Anne as she played her second gig as a solo artist last night / Credit: The Manc Group

The dancehall-pop track is the catalyst for Leigh-Anne’s independent artist journey as well as the first taste fans got of her debut album My Ego Told Me To.

This almost four-minute banger set the precedent for the whole project, establishing the album’s soundscape as a fusion of the star’s Jamaican heritage and pop prowess.

On her latest LP My Ego Told Me To there’s a cute interlude which features the voices of Leigh-Anne’s grandparents titled ‘You ARE a Star’ and it’s safe to say the crowd agrees.

The High Wycombe-born singer ends her show on a high, playing one of her biggest tracks to date, My Love, a collaboration with Afrobeats artist Ayra Starr.

For fans like myself, closing with this will come as no surprise as Leigh-Anne originally intended for this to be her first ever single as a solo artist, but was deterred by her label at the time.

Now, the former Little Mix star gets to set the record straight and enjoy her music career just how she intended – or in her words, how her ego told her to.