The X Factor 2011 live tour kicked off in Birmingham last night as the top 9 finalists of last year’s competition played their first dates at a full house at Birmingham’s NIA.

Matt Cardle showed why he won the competition with  spine-tingling renditions of tracks he performed on the show, but the biggest screams of the night were for the hottest boy band around at the moment, One D.

In our view One Direction  stole the show, performing a selection of their most popular performances from last year’s live show as well as a special treat for fans – their cover of Forever Young.

Forever Young is expected to be the boys first single and it was the first time that the group had performed it live after their third place finish in last year’s X Factor final.

The audience were also treated to renditions of song from last year’s X Factor by Rebecca, Katie, Mary, Cher, Paije, Aiden and Wagner.