While critics claim the boom of reality TV is on the way out, the audience at the Pop Idol concert would certainly disagree.
The ten finalists of the top television show hit the NEC last night in the Birmingham date of their UK tour.
But it wasn't winner Michelle McManus who stole the show - it was runners-up Mark Rhodes and Sam Nixon who took up every inch of the limelight. Darlaston-born Mark Rhodes looked like the cat that got the cream as he took up his place on stage.
He told the crowd: "I have been here so many times before and to be on the stage now is unbelievable." His home crowd definitely took a shine to him and his version of She's Like the Wind went down very well. The fans also went wild for Sam Nixon, and with his boyish good looks he certainly got the vote from the thousands of teenage girls in the audience.
The three-hour show included performances from each contestant.
