One half of pop duo Jedward has jumped to the defence of Mikey Graham after fans appeared worried for the singer’s appearance at Boyzone’s farewell concerts.
The Dubliner left fans shocked after he sang just four songs with Rona Keating, Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy, on stage in London’s Emirates Stadium on Friday night.
A review by The Telegraph also described their ‘One For The Road’ event as ‘breathtaking in its awfulness’ before giving the concert one star out of five.
Writing the review, Rob Fitzpatrick said fans deserved far more than the ‘undercooked drivel’ they were given, which he said included production dominated by AI slop and ‘Chat-GPT-generated guff’.
But Jedward’s Edward Grimes told host Kieran Cuddihy on RTÉ Liveline that criticism of Mikey’s appearance was ‘harsh’.
He said: ‘I know Mikey came on for a few songs, but like he could have easily not turned up at all, and the fact that he did turn up meant a lot to all the fans. I felt like it was a celebration,’ he said, adding that ‘there was also a sadness’ to the shows.
‘It’s very hard to describe a concert that’s their last two shows. I feel like no one should be dragging them,’ said Edward, and described The Telegraph review as ‘very harsh.’
‘Obviously, we’re in a time of AI, and they could say that some graphics were used with AI, but it wasn’t about that, because they were singing live.
‘They were hitting their dance steps; they weren’t just slouchy up there; they were like three athletes up there, hitting every point, and like the vocals were on it.’
Author Chris Duke also chimed in to defend Mikey’s performance, saying the singer’s courage should be commended.
‘The comments about his appearance, his weight, or whether he “looked the part” completely miss the point,’ he said.
‘Getting on that stage at all took courage. Standing in front of thousands of people when you’ve openly battled your mental health is no small thing. It doesn’t matter whether it was three songs or thirty. Sometimes just showing up is the victory. That deserves respect, not criticism.’
