There are two annual events by which teen-pop's health can be measured: the Smash Hits awards in December and Party in the Park, a Prince's Trust-sponsored feast of chart candy. The conclusion drawn from Sunday's show will cheer the beleaguered music industry. Reality pop isn't dead, or even peaky; at least 100,000 consumers still think Gareth Gates, Girls Aloud and ex-Hear'Sayer Kym Marsh rule. The same number want to marry the lumpish Duncan from Blue, whose hit All Rise inspired a banner reading: "Dunc, I want to make you all rise ... "
Cynics might mutter about the undeveloped critical faculties of 10-year-olds, but in fact, the kids were exercising considerable diplomacy, extending an equally warm welcome to the handful of older acts (David Gray, Simply Red) and to Dannii Minogue's strained disco-dancing. It was the purest sort of enjoyment, free of such considerations as whether Atomic Kitten, who listlessly tore off their tops in a bid for attention, are the worst girl band ever. There was something moving in the wholesale appreciation when a presenter asked: "Are you ready for David Gray?" "Yeah!" they roared. "Mis-Teeq?" "Yeah!" "TS Eliot?" "Yeah!"
The emphasis was on quantity: acts rolled past every 15 minutes, so much sushi on a conveyor belt, leaving an impression of micro-skirts and flailing limbs. Each band had its squad of muscular dancers jerking alongside, presumably to distract attention from the music.
Meat Loaf didn't need any dancers, though; he relied on force of character and cyclonic vocals to transfix the crowd, much of which was probably disturbed by the big guy's pop-eyed hysteria at the climax of Bat Out of Hell. Gray also managed without choreography, though it would have been fun to see him surrounded by lycra-legged lovelies, this being the man who devoted his Glastonbury show to pontificating about Blair and Bush. Finally, Destiny's Child leader Beyonce Knowles could easily have sent her dancers home. She is a stunning talent, the best R&B voice of her generation by miles, and the sight of her thrashing her hair extensions while crying "I'm crazy in love!" will linger. The rest of Party in the Park won't, but 100,000 people went home Dunc-drunk and happy.
