Samantha Barks, St. James Studio | Review

Sunday 3 April 2016

It has been 20 hours since Samantha Barks stepped on the St. James Studio stage and I am still buzzing. I have been a fan of Sam since she was first on 'I'd Do Anything' and since then I have followed her career and been lucky enough to see her perform several times but this was a very different experience to anything else I've watched Samantha in previously.


The reason for the concert was to give us all a taster of Samantha's upcoming album and supporting tour so there was a very excited atmosphere in the intimate St James Studio. Samantha opened the show with a stunning rendition of Disney's 'Go The Distance' and immediately showed off her vocal range. Samantha has such a brilliant personality that you can't help but feel like you're listening to a friend so when we all laughed at Sam's funny comments and anecdotes (including a hilarious one about being made into a meme) it was like a big group of friends laughing together which was really lovely. Especially in the small venue; there was a connection from the get go.  The first half of the concert included so many wonderful songs such as a cover of "Blackbird", a jazzy version of "As Long As He Needs Me", "Stay" from Amelie and of course some original songs including "Hard To Find" which I am already obsessed with, I'm even more excited for the album now I've had a taste of what its like!

The whole first half flew by and during the interval we were all just awestruck at Samantha's voice, you could sense the thrill and excitement in the room so when Miss Barks came on stage for act two we were all buzzing for what was to come. Of course Sam didn't disappoint, the second half again included some originals and covers, my personal favourites were a sultry cover of "Summertime" and a beautiful cover of one of my favourite songs: "If I Die Young". The second act again went ridiculously fast but it finished with a bang! Samantha sung a reimagined version of "On My Own" and it was truly breathtaking. 

Overall I had the most glorious night, made amazing by the fantastic friends and people I met there and of course by Samantha's flawless technique, stage presence and personality. The only negative of the night was that I wish it had been longer... I mean, Sam could sing for four hours and it still wouldn't be enough! I guess that's what albums are for though, to listen to over and over and over!! 

If this preview was anything to go by, the tour and album are going to be astounding so I urge you, not only to pre-order the album but find a tour date you can go to and witness Samantha's brilliance in person, I one billion percent promise you, you won't be disappointed... and if you are then I will never see a musical again (and that's saying something!) Samantha is truly a force to be reckoned with and I am so thrilled and excited for everything Samantha is going to do in the near future. I'm so proud of Sam, and I will continue to support her in whatever she does, and I hope you do too!

Samantha's album available June 10th can be pre-ordered here
Tickets for Samantha's tour can be booked here
Also my lovely friend Hayley posted her thought on the concert which you can read here