![]() It’s an odd choice to end the show with little-known songs but perhaps Kelis wanted a calmer end to the gig – just like her opening, which was, similarly, made up of lesser-known songs. I had to leave after this in order to make the last bus back to Burnley but I knew from the previous show’s setlist that the rest of the medley and the final song were not hits. I love that she put her two Nas duets together. The encore was opened with a medley, which began with the backing singer covering ‘Blindfold Me’, before Kelis arrived onstage and briefly sang ‘In Public’. This was followed with three of Kelis’ later hits: ‘4th of July (Fireworks)’, ‘Acapella’ (a beautiful tribute to her son, Knight), and ‘Bounce’ – the latter of which is one of my favourite songs (forget ‘Milkshake’!). DJ Nikki’s ability to blend these three very different songs together must be applauded. She sang her signature song, ‘Milkshake’ (it’s refreshing when artists don’t leave their signature song until the end of the main set or the encore), before briefly covering Nirvana‘s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and Donna Summer‘s ‘I Feel Love’. The final part of the main set was the best part of the show. Kelis missed out a few (namely, ‘Taking Back My Love’ with Enrique Iglesias, my favourite male artist) but she also wanted to introduce us to some of her other music. I was reminded of Ashanti‘s concert last year, in which she sang pretty much all of her hits, many of them only very briefly so that she could fit in as many as possible. Kelis powered her way through her many hits, including ‘Trick Me’, ‘Lil Star’, and, briefly, ‘Finest Dreams’. Kelis is not a professional dancer but she sure knows how to (milk)shake it! Her music is groovy, and she’s got impeccable stage presence it’s so effortless.ĭJ Nikki again showed off her skill when she mixed ‘Bossy’ into a brief reprise of ‘Caught Out There’ and that into ‘Got Your Money’ (which was, interestingly, Ol’ Dirty Bastard‘s final song and Kelis’ first) – before mixing that into a song which Kelis danced to. But even when she was singing lesser-known songs, she had the audience captivated. The next part of Kelis’ set was made up primarily of lesser-known songs, alongside the hits ‘Good Stuff’ and ‘Young, Fresh n’ New’ to keep us excited. The mixing, courtesy of DJ Nikki Beatnik, was perfect – she’s one of the best DJs I’ve seen live. ![]() Kelis edged us in gently, with a couple lesser-known songs, before performing an electrifying medley, made up of her debut single, ‘Caught Ou There’, a brief cover of Soul II Soul‘s ‘Back to Life’, and ‘Millionaire’. The stage was simply decorated, with a huge print of her debut album, Kaleidoscope, hanging at the back of the stage, which served as a promise that this was going to be a night of nostalgia. ![]() She wore a pale pink shirt and denim jeans, both of them coated in glitter. Kelis was accompanied by a band and a single backing singer rather than the usual two or three. Akemi is early on in her career and surely still finding herself as an artist but this was a promising performance. She even showed off a few unchoreographed moves, which the audience loved – which prompted her to groove a little more. She appeared very comfortable onstage, especially later on in the set. ![]() She came to slay.Īkemi wisely began her set with some groovy numbers, which got the audience going, before bringing things down and showing off her southing vocals. She wore a red lace co-ord, complete with a thong that hung proudly above her hips. Kelis’ opening act was Manchester’s own Akemi Fox. There was a real variety of age, gender and race (and fashion) a real mix of people all united by an appreciation of an RNB icon. Over three years later, Kelis came back to Manchester – and she brought all the boys (and girls) to the yard! Indeed, I was surprised by the diversity of her audience. Kelis was supposed to visit Albert Hall back in March 2020 but we all know what happened…
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