Craig David has given his backing to Saints in their bid for FA Cup glory - by wearing the home kit for one of his stage shows.

The Southampton singing sensation donned the familiar red and white shirt during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

He continued the colour scheme by wearing white trousers and a red hat.

The R'n'B star was playfully booed by the mostly London-based audience, but received loud cheers from one fan - Saints player Francis Benali, who was among the music-lovers at the concert.

Craig, who has just embarked on a short UK and European tour, will be performing in Los Angeles with Sting - with whom he duets on his new single, Rise and Fall - during the Cup final on May 17, but plans to get up early to watch the all-important match.

"LA is the last place I want to be when Southampton are playing in the final. I'm going to try to watch it in one of the pubs out there," said Craig, who celebrates his 22nd birthday on Monday.

Speaking on Power FM yesterday, Craig predicted a 2-1 result for Southampton in the match.

He added: "I think we want it so much more than Arsenal.

"Arsenal have won the Cup many times. Southampton are the underdogs but we are going to take this away from them."

Craig recently got a chance to touch the coveted trophy when he guest starred on Sky Sports.

"I was holding the Cup and thinking: 'You know what, we are going to take this back.' The spirit's in there. It's already felt some Southampton hands!"

Craig, who grew up on Southampton's Holyrood estate, is also keeping his fingers crossed for Rise and Fall, which was released on Monday.

The duet with Sting, in which Craig sings about the pitfalls of fame, is vying with dance track Loneliness by German act Tomcraft for the number one spot tomorrow.

"With my birthday on Monday, it's been an exciting week," said Craig.

The superstar also revealed that Mariah Carey had asked him to support her for an American tour later this year.

If Craig gets to number one on Sunday, it will be his first chart-topper since 7 Days, released in 2000. Rise and Fall is the third single from Craig's recent album Slicker than Your Average.

For more Craig David stories and pictures visit our special Craig pages at... This is Southampton in the 'Whats On' section.