Having recently lost out on bagging tickets for Beyoncé’s sold out shows at London’s 02 Arena, I was fortunate to secure tickets for the tour of an equally talented and mainstream superstar. Alicia Keys is a 14-time Grammy award winner who has built a critically acclaimed career with her brand of classic, modern soulful r&b. Ms Keys has proved herself to be a true performer, so I was not expecting an over-the-top Katy Perry-type show, or a performance as glamourous as Beyoncé’s, hell, not even a show as raunchy as Rihanna’s. I was expecting a true r&b singer to deliver her hits to an audience that was in attendance to hear her do just that, and she did in pure elegance.
After being treated to an intriguing opening performance by r&b star, Miguel – Alicia appeared in all her glorious beauty, opening with her empowering yet vengeful hit, ‘Karma’ – backed by her bevy of male dancers, she delivered it with exceptional stage presence and vocal ability, before transitioning into her endearing ballad ‘You Don’t Know My Name,’ even re-enacting the telephone conversation in a Broadway play-styled fashion.
With limited stage theatrics and simple choreography, the r&b songstress delivered her catalogue of hits with impressive standards of crowd interaction, stellar vocals and her incredible piano playing skills. A particular soaring moment came with the performance of her breakout hit, ‘Fallin’ – but the surprises only just began as she brought out UK singer and producer, Labrinth who warmed up the crowd with a medley of his hits ‘Express Yourself/Earthquake’ while Alicia provided some form of backing vocals.
Another surprise and probably the highlight of the night came when she began to play the opening piano notes of John Legend’s ‘Ordinary People’ before welcoming the man himself to the stage for them to perform the song as a duet, she even went as far as admitting that he plays the piano better than she does. She set a glittery back drop by asking the audience to wave their cellphones in the air as she sang biggest hit till date, ‘No One.’
Though considered to be the weakest songs on her latest album (Girl on Fire) - her fiery performances of ‘New Day’ and ‘Girl on Fire’ resonated well with the audience and proved that she still had a bit more energy in her after an hour plus set. After a brief break and her only wardrobe change – she returned to deliver the ode to her home town ‘Empire State of Mind’ and paid homage to the city she was in by switching the lyrics to “we’re in London, concrete jungle where dreams are made of.”
After reading positive reviews about her sold out show the night before, day two seemed to offer an equally impressive, if not better opportunity for Ms Keys to prove the artistic genius that she really is. She might not have commanded the stage like her contemporaries would have but she put on a show that only Alicia Keys could.
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