The Labyrinth (tour)

Sheffield was the first night of 18 dates on her first ever arena tour and it would be understandable if the debutante was nervous as she appeared, looking every inch the British Beyonce, in a tight black dress, over-the-knee boots and hooded cloak, beneath a gothic ruin swirling in mist.

[...] One of Leona's great vocal strengths has always been her ability to convey powerful emotion, and she was at her brilliant best when the songs allowed her to do just that – to really sing, to deliver the lyrics clearly without too much backing, and to do so without distraction.

And a funked-up, clubby segment including stonking dance track "Outta My Head", a cover of "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics, and a nod to Michael Jackson finally got the crowd on its feet and proved Leona's more than just a ballad singer.

"[13] Pete Paphides from The Times gave the tour three out of five stars, saying: "With a live show apparently inspired by the Jim Henson fantasy flick Labyrinth, to the slow beats of "Brave", Lewis wandered through a bevy of semi-naked men in horned helmets — her black veil and slightly troubled gaze calling to mind an outrageously lavish Scottish Widows commercial.

[...] A sense of the truly unexpected probably wasn't what Lewis's fans had turned up for, less still the sexually charged theatricality that comes as standard at, say, a Rihanna or Lady Gaga show.

[...] A fairytale woodland scene festooned with lights served as the backdrop for a moderately pretty acoustic version of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River".

The 1986 fantasy adventure, starring David Bowie, provides rich pickings for the set designers, but it's the plotline that offers a glimpse into the mindset of the 2006 X-Factor winner – the teenage heroine escapes from a puppet-infested maze by declaring to her captor: "My will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great ... you have no power over me!"

[...] Just when it felt like we were permanently trapped in a maze of polished but stilted performances, a trapdoor opened, strobes flashed and Lewis emerged in strikingly symbolic high-waisted leggings.