Olly Murs, O2 Arena, review: Charismatic Essex boy twerks it all the way

His safe, sentimental pop songs may not appeal to everyone - but there's no denying Murs is a born performer

Olly Murs performs at London's O2 on his fourth UK tour in five years (Rex Features)

Cheeky Essex boy and soon to be X Factor presenter Olly Murs exudes so much charisma he's practically sweating at the amount of on stage joking with the largely female audience.

He’s perspiring for good reason after leaping about the stage, dancing snake hip style up to the microphone and twerking to both sides of the screaming O2 arena.

Murs has always played on his harmless boy next door image with his unapologetically sentimental songs. At one point he reveals a tiny picture of his baby nephew has been stuck onto his earpiece and the crowd screams even louder.

He performs “Busy” and “Please Don’t Let Me Go” in a clichéd crooner scene surrounded by a white grand piano before bursting into an energetic performance of “Heart Skips a Beat” with flashing pink lights.

His latest songs from his fourth album Never Let Me Go have more to them. Support act Ella Eyre joins him for “Up”, which has a country twang to it performed live, while new single “Seasons” could almost pass for urban pop with a blaring backing beat.

It's easy to sneer at Murs' brand of safe pop, but he is an undeniably likeable performer with as much charisma to rival Simon Cowell.