CHAMPAGNE, fast cars and lots of girls were top of Gareth Gates's agenda when he came second in the TV phenomenon, Pop Idol.

Last night, at the Feel the Noise Live concert at Manchester's Arena, he certainly got the girls -- about 16,000 of them.

And he lapped it up, standing with a smile so broad the dazzling lights were almost reflecting off his teeth.

But at one point, the 18-year-old Bradford lad was threatened to be upstaged by energetic pop rival Darius Danesh.

Darius belted out his forthcoming single, "Colour Blind", while dashing from one end of the stage to the other with a guitar strapped across his back.

All the while, the crowd were reaching fever pitch and, when he threw a bottle containing two backstage passes into the crowd, I could have sworn the two girls next to me were about to pass out.

It appeared that he was to going to be the surprise package of the night as he confidently swaggered and smiled, looking every inch a star.

But even his reception was a mere drop in the ocean compared to Gareth's.

Dressed in a cream jacket and light blue jeans, spiky-haired Gareth waited patiently, reading the many banners held aloft by girls professing their love for him.

Throughout the night his fans were told that Gareth was still single and that now he was being allowed to date by his record producers.

He would be quite a catch -- with £2.5 million in the bank and two number one singles in the bag, he's certainly proving successful.

So excited were the crowd, they were not even disappointed by Gareth's measly two songs.

His first, "Unchained Melody", was almost drowned out by screaming, the decibels rising each time he waved or he so much as touched his collar.

Dance act Stargate were thrown on stage straight after him -- bizarrely, since Gareth was supposed to be the headline act -- and one had to feel sorry for them. Especially as many people used their act as an excuse to buy a drink or go to the toilet.

The Sugababes followed, each clad in denim and each intent on wowing the few male audience members with their highly-rehearsed hip movements as they sang their number one hit, "Freak Like Me".

More praise was heaped on Worsley girl Sarah Whatmore, another Pop Idol finalist who made it into the final 50. The girl tipped by some to be the next Jennifer Lopez put on a confident performance, despite not having an earth-shattering song.

Former Brookside star Claire Sweeney was less than well-received. Her three songs lacked intimacy and were greeted by many with another trip to the toilet.

But no-one could really complain. Everyone paid £10 to get in and the concert went on for a staggering four-and-a-half hours.

Outside the venue, however, someone else was having the pop idol experience -- the man selling unlicensed posters of Gareth Gates for a quid was being mobbed by six-year-olds. It was an unforgettable moment during a rather unforgettable night.