Alicia Keys As I Am Tour
Stand Out Live Tour with Neyo & Jordin Sparks Showcases Keys Vocals
The incredible production and vocal ability of Alicia Keys is on full display in her As I Am tour. Also an update on Jordin Sparks.
Alicia Keys, the singing sensation who has won nine Grammy’s and sold over 20 million albums, launched a North American tour in Hampton, Virginia. The tour, which wraps up at Madison Square Gardens in June, features R&B hit maker Neyo and the 2007 American Idol winner Jordin Sparks as the opening acts.
Unfortunately, Jordin was absent from the Hampton tour date due to a vocal hemorrhage. Billboard reports, "Jordin Sparks is battling an acute vocal cord hemorrhage, and has dropped off the just-launched Alicia Keys tour while she recovers." This absence was a disappointment to many fans who, having voted for her on the show, wished to see their winner live.
Her replacement was a spirited Jermaine Paul. Normally Keys' background singer, Paul's performance was forced and sloppy, this probably was a byproduct of the unforeseen Jordin Sparks exit. If by chance he continues as the opening act for the rest of the tour his innovative performance of Don Henley's "Boys of Summer" is a bright spot worth anticipating. Also every song he did with Keys was exceptional, particularly, "Diary".
Neyo
This Grammy-winning singer-songwriter's dramatic set was overshadowed by the often haphazard production and cluttered staging. Neyo's songbook was set to his narration of a developing relationship therefore guaranteeing that his major hit, the addictive "So Sick", would be almost last to arrive. Messy microphone work and poor articulation make "Because of You", and predictably, "So Sick" the brightest stops in this number. Between songs DJ Mars took the audience down music memory lane; churning out audience participation out of potential dead air. He was quite humorous and skilled.
Alicia Keys
From the moment her piano glides onto the stage to the impassioned encore, Miss Keys never disappoints. Her seamless production and exciting light displays were as classy as the songstress they were in tune with. That production coupled with consummate background singers and vocal gymnastics to shame even the most seasoned of live performers easily delivers what has to be the best tour of the year.
Her soaring sound on “Got to Be There" showed her incredible vocal range and musical awareness. She converses with the audience as if she were at a slumber party and claims to simply wish, "to play her piano", as opposed to the lascivious options given to female performers. Who can argue with talent? So, play her piano she does.
Her live vocal of "Superwoman" is emotive and uplifting, sending every woman in the audience to celebrate the triumph of sheer muliebrity. The more somber "Like You'll Never See Me Again" is full of fervency and commitment. She is fearless with the arrangement and her band slides through her show-stopping octaves with ease.
Keys is not selfish with her spotlight. Halfway through she relates her experiences in Africa and gives her audience a chance to connect with Keep A Child Alive. Keep A Child Alive is a non-profit response to the African AIDS crisis.
By the time that epic note signals the beginning of "Fallin" you are well aware that you stand (because you will be on your feet) in the presence of genius. As I Am is Alicia Keys at her finest and just might prove to be the magnum opus of a prodigious career.
