POP princess Zoe Birkett wowed thousands of fans as she took to the stage for her biggest performance to date.

The 16-year-old, of Welbeck Avenue, Darlington, joined fellow Pop Idol contestants for two concerts at Wembley Arena.

The former Carmel College student and the nine other finalists are playing at venues around the country as part of the Pop Idol tour. More than 18,000 tickets were snapped up in just two-and-a-half hours for their concert debut. Zoe joined best friend Gareth Gates for a duet.

There were rumours of a romance between them after Gareth burst into tears when Zoe was voted off the show, but the pair insist they are just good friends.

Zoe's mother, Tracey, will be cheering her daughter along on the tour.

She said: "It is so exciting. Zoe was a bit nervous, but I knew that as soon as the curtains went back she would be fine. It is the biggest crowd that she has performed in front of and she was very excited about it. I knew the show would be amazing.

"After the tour Zoe is going to be really busy. She has so much going on. It is brilliant."

Tickets for the North-East leg of the tour, at the Telewest Arena, Newcastle, sold out in a day. Zoe and the other finalists, including winner Will Young, will be in Newcastle on April 3 and 4.

Following Zoe's acclaimed performance of Get Happy, by Judy Garland, on the ITV show, she will perform a selection of big band songs during the tour.

She has been signed by manager Simon Fuller, the man behind chart-toppers S Club Seven. Almost nine million people voted in the Pop Idol final last month.