It may have been a particularly miserable Tuesday evening but several thousand people were certainly enjoying themselves at the Brighton Centre.

Daniel Bedingfield's rise to fame has been no less than meteoric and, in the past 18 months, he has trounced chart rivals with three Number One singles and a Top 40 album that has seemingly been around for as long as Cliff Richard.

On the strength of Tuesday's performance, it's no wonder why.

Opening with Blown It Again, it was obvious Bedingfield can actually sing (almost an anomaly in today's crop of pop acts).

Every aspect of the performance was geared to showcase what is a fairly astonishing, soulful vocal talent. The singer's other ability lies in the range of musical styles he can cover.

Versatility might well be his middle name. Within half an hour, the audience was treated to choice selections of R'n'B, garage, rock and sheer unadulterated pop. Bedingfield even found the space for a couple of verses of U2's Where The Streets Have No Name.

The effortless glide between each track was impressive and the depth of material was entertaining for the impartial observer, while his off-stage antics (crowd-wandering during Girlfriend) ensured the hordes of screaming fans well kept well and truly fixated throughout.

Casually fitted in jeans and a T-shirt, Bedingfield is the boy next door, someone your mum, and possibly even your Gran, would approve of.

As he ploughed into the singles, there was an enormous response from Brighton's fans and a smattering of obligatory stadium-filling lighter waving was also observed.

Honest Questions and new tracks I'll Never Leave Your Side and Wrap My Words Around You are soft, catchy and undeniably radio-friendly. The second song indicated his new album is likely to follow his first right into the top of the charts.

Another single, Friday, was souped-up and charged with plenty of set-closing, knob-twiddling trickery that had everybody tapping their feet.

However, it was not until the encore that we were treated to a proper performance.

While his between-song patter was enough to tailor him up for a Butlins' red coat next season, it was the Seventies romp through Boogie Wonderland and Freak Out mixed with Gotta Get Thru This that made the famous Kylie versus New Order song from the Brits appear old and staid.

The sheen and sparkle of his performance was well managed and fame school was emblazoned across every tremor and well-judged falsetto.

Review by Simon Holden, features@theargus.co.uk