Alicia Keys Gives Tour A Fitting Fairwell In Her Hometown

Dynamic musicianship is the mark of a good performer and Alicia Keys' performance Wednesday night (June 18) at New York City's Madison Square Garden definitely fit that description.

The show, part of Keys' As I Am Tour, began with a five-song set by Jordin Sparks, who was clad in a pink dress and black heels and wore her hair in loose curls. Backed by two guitarists, a pianist and a drummer, the "American Idol" winner's set included the rock-tinged "Heartbreaker," "One Step At A Time" and "No Air" sans Chris Brown.

Ne-Yo took the stage next, sporting a black tail-coat tuxedo, a top hat and a baton. He was accompanied by an eight-member band, all wearing shiny silver suits and hats, and four female dancers in sparkly white leotards.

The Las Vegas, Nev., native started his set with his latest single, "Closer," which is currently No. 35 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, followed by "Can We Chill," the sensual tracks "Mirror" and "Say It," ­ both which were accompanied by an equally sultry dance routine, and "Sexy Love."

Ne-Yo, who had changed into a white tuxedo, was then joined by rapper Fabolous for "Make Me Better," and Rihanna for "Hate That I Love You." Both guests received standing ovations from the energized audience.

The singer/songwriter wrapped up his set with crowd favorites "Go On Girl," a reggae-esque version of "So Sick," "Do You" and "Because Of You."

Headliner Alicia Keys was next, and she took the stage along with four back-up singers, six background dancers, a percussionist, a drummer, two guitarists, a saxophonist, a flutist and another keyboardist.

Three towering screens displaying Keys' childhood pictures and falling stars during "Fallin'," wrapped the stage just above a door that opened to reveal a swiveling platform holding a grand piano.

Draped in a black shirt, jeans and stilettos, the songstress opened with "Ghetto Story" and told the crowd that, "as a little girl I always had big dreams... for me it started with a girls group." Then, flanked by three of her background singers dressed in "Dreamgirls"-esque silver fringe dresses, Keys launched into "Where Do We Go From Here," "Teenage Love Affair" and "You Don't Know My Name."

Keys moved through her three wardrobe changes with powerful performances from her background singers, who wailed Labelle's "Lady Marmalade" and Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up."

The show was extremely coordinated; if Keys walked to the front of her stage, a dancer's routine lead her there; if she worked the left side of the stage, another keyboard awaited her; if she went backstage, she popped up in front of the large screens. The audience's attention span was consistently maintained.

During "How Come You Don't Call Me," Keys argued with an invisible man before running through "Butterflies," and "How Do you Love Someone." As she played "Prelude To A Kiss," Keys told the crowd that she'd written the song during her first trip to Africa and seamlessly plugged her "Keep A Child Alive" foundation- asking fans to text a $5 donation- without seeming pushy.

Another highlight was the "Diary" duet featuring longtime back-up singer Jermaine Paul, who gained notoriety on Keys' 2005 live "Unplugged" album.
Beginning the track by playing the piano upside down -- she laid across the instrument's top and eventually migrated to the piano bench -- Keys blended her alto with Paul's falsetto, before flowing into a rendition of Force MD's "Tender Love."

Ending her set with the hit "No One" and a standing ovation, Keys proved that a dynamic performance mixed with superior musicianship always wins.

Source: Billboard.com

Alicia Keys' troubled time leads to big success

R&B singer Alicia Keys is enjoying a successful worldwide tour, a chart-topping album and will act in an upcoming movie, but it might not have happened, she said, were it not for a near breakdown two years ago.Keys, whose current hits include "No One," is in the middle of her "As I Am" tour. The new "As I Am" album debuted on record charts at No. 1 and has sold over 3 million copies.
In October, she makes her film debut in "The Secret Life of Bees," starring Queen Latifah and Jennifer Hudson. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the movie is co-produced by Will Smith and backed by indie powerhouse Fox Searchlight.While Keys seems to lead a charmed life and has the sort of career that most other 26-year-olds could barely imagine, it hasn't always been so rosy.Two years ago, the singer went through a troubled period that nearly derailed her life and career. A workaholic lifestyle and the death of a close relative from cancer pushed her "very close" to the breaking point, she admits.Instead of having a public meltdown, Keys faced her demons in private."I knew I needed time away, so I went to Egypt for a month -- on my own, which gave it a whole different perspective," she told Reuters in a recent interview."It allowed me to see things I'd never seen before -- all the temples on the Nile, the Pyramids, the history. It was so rich and beautiful and strong, and it inspired me so much, and renewed me."

TIME TO REFLECT
Keys said she felt like it was important to be alone so she could reflect on her thoughts and examine her life, away from the media spotlight. She also cut back her work schedule."I'm definitely a workaholic in some ways, although less than I was before," she said.
Ultimately, she said, the near-breakdown brought about an artistic breakthrough that helped shape the music on her third album and her edgier stage persona.
Billboard magazine, in its review of "As I Am," said Keys "takes a step closer toward the soul revival popularized by John Legend, with full band arrangements and bright horn hooks, only occasionally falling back into the piano/melisma combination that drove the singles off her first two albums."
Keys has always prided herself on being in control of her career and music, producing her records and writing songs, but ironically, she was able to push herself more on the new album by giving up some of that control, she said."I purposely didn't have such a kind of controlling approach about it and I allowed the music to flow," she said. "I've come more into my own, and really, with experience comes confidence and a little bit more of awareness of how I would like to do it, having learned from the past."
She added that she is anxious to experiment even more and wants to work with rock acts like the White Stripes, Green Day, U2 or Coldplay."Things that are not quite of the same world, or so you think," she said, "but when you put them together it's just really interesting."

Source: AOL.com

Alicia Keys Mulls Next Album, New Single

The 2007 chart-topping album "As I Am" is still a fresh concern for Alicia Keys, but the singer tells Billboard.com that she's already actively mulling her next record.

"I've been thinking about the next album since we kind of wrapped up this album," says Keys, who's in the middle of a North American tour promoting "As I Am." The set, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in November, still remains in the top 30 of the chart.

"Part of what I've been thinking about is, 'What are the ways that I want to express myself this time?' When I was just finishing recording 'As I Am,' I said to myself that I want to do something that's totally stripped-down, stripped-back, totally piano-based, singer-songwriter; [a] Joni Mitchell, Carole King type of vibe.

"I might do that, but you never know where life takes you, where the music's going to take you."

Keys says her greatest obstacle to creating new music now is finding a chance to do it amidst a worldwide tour schedule that has dates booked into 2009.

"At this point I'm trying to find the space to continue to record as I'm on tour," explains Keys, who recently canceled some performances due to voice health issues. "That's always a bit of a challenge for me 'cause it takes so much out of me to tour. But there's always that urge to stay creative and write on that more personal side. So the main goal now is to continue to find that quiet space somewhere in the madness."

Keys is also starting to consider her next single, the follow-up to "Teenage Love Affair." She says she's leaning towards "Superwoman," which she feels encapsulates much of what "As I Am" is about.

"This album really has taught me so much about myself," Keys says, "and every day I'm learning more and more. The beauty of 'Superwoman' is that it's not about being all-powerful and ... being perfect, 'cause no one is.

"It's about perfection in our weaknesses and perfection in our imperfection, that we can still keep going and we can still learn and still remain strong. Even when we're feeling weak, we can still be superwomen -- and supermen. I love what that says about all that I've learned this year."

Keys says she and director Gina Prince-Bythewood are still deciding whether she'll contribute any music to her next film project, an adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel "The Secret Life of Bees." Due this fall, "Bees" features Keys acting alongside Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah.

Keys has also been tapped to star as the biracial classical piano prodigy Philippa Schuyler in the Halle Berry-produced "Black and White" but says the project is currently in the scripting stage with its release "a couple of years off."

Source: Billboard.com