BOYZONE FANS AND Irish duo Jedward have jumped to defend the boy band after strong criticism was levelled against their two farewell gigs at the Emirates Stadium in London.

The first night of the ‘One For The Road’ event was described as “breathtaking in its awfulness” in a scathing review from The Telegraph, which gave the performance 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”.

Meanwhile, other publications and online commenters highlighted the absence of Mikey Graham, who only joined bandmates Keith Duffy, Ronan Keating and Shane Lynch for a three-song set. Graham has openly spoken about his mental health struggles previously. 

Brian joined Keith on stage tonight for Boyzone - 2 for the Road at the Emirates Stadium to perform 'CHILLS' live for the first time in front of thousands of incredible fans. 💙

Thank you for making this release so special already. The journey is only just beginning. 🎶 pic.twitter.com/70xyaMAcbS

— BOYZLIFE (@boyzlifeOFCL) June 5, 2026

Edward Grimes, of Jedward fame, took to the airwaves today to defend Boyzone – a group who, like Jedward, was also formerly managed by Louis Walsh.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Liveline today, Grimes 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.”

He 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,” he said.

“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.”

Mikey Graham speech at the boyzone concert #boyzone #mikeygraham pic.twitter.com/VNsOmyf7Pw

— Chris (@Chriswindon) June 5, 2026

Meanwhile, fans of the band who attended the gigs described them as ‘the best night of their lives’.

“The emotion was real and you had 59,000 people in tears,” one fan wrote on Facebook. 

“I didn’t want it to all be over. Absolutely incredible Saturday nights boys. I’m not taking my wristband off,” another said. 

Others were strongly critical of comments directed at Graham’s performance, with Author Chris Duke 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.”