Alicia Keys graced a packed Rod Laver Arena with her amazing voice, supported by John Legend.
Alicia Keys is one of those artists that you think you don’t know her singles but when it comes to the night you think to yourself, “I know these songs!”
Singles such as ‘A Woman’s Worth’, ‘How Come You Don’t Call Me’ and ‘You Don’t Know My Name’ are prime examples of this. For ‘A Woman’s Worth’, Keys performed a bit of a mash-up with the beat/riff from ‘Another Way To Die’, her duet with Jack White from the James Bond, ‘Quantum Of Solace’, soundtrack.
Keys traversed her catalogue from her breakthrough debut album, ‘Songs In A Minor’, all the way through to her new fifth and newest album, ‘Girl On Fire’.
‘No One’, was the obligatory ‘hold your phone up in the air track’. This is arguably one of Keys’ biggest hits and it’s understandable why. The song completely showed off just how talented Alicia Keys really is.
What’s amazing about Keys is how she has managed to shy away from the major spotlight while still being one of the top artists within RnB. She is no Beyoncé – and this is a good thing – but my biggest gripe of the night was the fact that at some points it felt like she was trying to be.
The addition of backing dancers to her show took a bit away from her performance because unlike Beyoncé, Keys is a supremely talented artist and musician. The backing dancers seemed to cheapen her artistic performance. This is just a small gripe in what was ultimately an incredible performance.
Alicia Keys then came out for her encore and we all knew exactly which songs needed to be played; her recent mega-hit ‘Girl On Fire’ and the ode to her hometown of New York, ‘Empire State Of Mind’.
Performing the beginning of ‘Girl On Fire’ on a stand-up drum kit, Keys blew the crowd away with how easily she seems to sing those notes. Looking around the crowd, it seemed that people were too embarrassed to even attempt to sing along.
Closing out the night with her New York anthem ‘Empire State Of Mind’, that featured Jay-Z on the big screen, Alicia Keys solidified her position as the Queen of RnB. True, she is no Beyoncé but what separates her from ‘Queen-B’ is that she comes across as a more authentic artist; someone who is not just a talented singer but also an amazing musician and performer.
Alicia Keys and John Legend Remaining Tour Dates
11 Dec Allphones Arena, Sydney
13 Dec Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
14 Dec Hope Estate, Hunter Valley
19 Dec Vector Arena, Auckland
Tickets through Live Nation.
Alicia Keys Current Setlist
Streets of NY / Empire In Dance
Karma
You Don’t Know My Name
Tears Always Win
Listen To Your Heart
Like You’ll Never See
Woman’s Worth
Diary
Unthinkable
Try Sleeping
Fallin’
When It’s All Over
Limitedless
Unbreakable
If I Ain’t Got You (sung by backing singers)
No One
(Encore)
New Day
Girl On Fire
Empire State Of Mind
Stay updated with your free Noise11 daily music newsletter. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
PHOTO GALLERY: ALICIA KEYS. Photos By Ros O’Gorman
