Hit or Miss?
What do you think of the tracks?
UGK – Int’l Players Anthem (ft. Outkast)
It’s been a while since Outkast have been in the limelight, so their appearance on this UGK track is welcomed. I’m really liking the song and video; the vid follows the concept of track closely and the resulting video is hilarious. Definitely one the better videos released this year. Stars including T-Pain, Chamillionaire and Big Gipp make cameo appearances.
What do you think of the videos?
You would think that he would know better than to do something like this, particularly considering the backlash he received from the incident with underage girl. Part of me feels the fan deserved it, but Akon has a responsibilty as an artist.
R&B Tamia singer Tamia has finally premiered the video for her latest single ‘Me’. It’s been some time since her last video ‘Can’t Get Enough’ debuted and a follow-up was long-overdue. The video for ‘Me’ is great; it plays on the concept of the beautiful ballad- a reaffirming ode to loving yourself. Tamia, who is 6 months pregnant, looks stunning too.
What do you think of the video?
I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting Rihanna’s anticipated performance with Jay-Z to be anything special; however I was pleasantly surprised by how good she did. Everything from her stage presence, to the vocals, to her look were all on-point. I’m still wondering what relevance Jay-Z has on the song, as he added nothing to the performance.
Amy Winehouse – Rehab
UK singing sensation Amy Winehouse also took to the stage to perform her hit ‘Rehab’. I liked her performance and felt it improved as it went on. She’s definitely had better performances than this, though. At the start she seemed kinda uncomfortable, yet got it together by the middle of the song.
What do you think of their performances?
After arriving at the arena around 7.30pm and purchasing the expected rip-off tour booklet (£12/$23!), we made our way to our seats. Once seated, I was surprised to see Matthew Knowles, as well as production trio The Bamma Boys, appear on stage to hype the crowd and introduce the opening act – Soul singer Katie Shotter. 20 year old Shotter was the winner of Matthew’s UK TV show ‘Chancers’ and is signed to his label Music World. She was generally well-received by the audience and her material was promising. Yet, by the third song it was like ‘hurry up and get off the stage’. Well, at least that’s what I was thinking Lol…
An already-hyped audience erupted at 8.50pm, when Beyonce finally hit the stage. The spectacle of her entrance alone was pretty amazing; raining pyro served as the backdrop to her grand entry. Beyonce then launched into a rousing performance of mega-hit ‘Crazy in Love’, which set the tone for the rest of the evening. I’d seen her live a few times before and she was great, yet it was evident yesterday that she was performing with increased vigour. She commanded that stage; it was if she was possessed. Sasha was officially in the building.
There were many highlights during the show; including the steamy ‘Baby Boy’ (which was remixed with Reggae classic ‘Murder She Wrote’) and her near-flawless rendition of ‘Dangerously in Love’. The Destiny’s Child Medley was also a standout, with Knowles singing a string of the group’s big hits- crowd participation here was off the charts. Knowles’ vocals were on-point throughout and all songs were sung live – aside from the passable ‘Suga Mama’.
Of the newer songs performed, I was most impressed with ‘Upgrade U’ and ‘Get Me Bodied’. Both performances stayed true to their video counterparts-hence the choreography was hot. Unfortunately the version of ‘Get Me Bodied’ she performed wasn’t the Extended Mix – so no ‘Naomi Campbell walk’ lol– but it was still great nonetheless. Even the limp ‘Flaws & All’ was brought to life via Beyonce’s raw stage presence; she shed a genuine tear during this performance.
The WHOLE arena – women, men, boys, girls and even the arena staff- went into a frenzy when the last song ‘Irreplaceable’ was sung. ‘To the left, to the left’, she encouraged us to sing ‘…even you gangstas too’ she added. At that point I let go of any reluctance and flung my hands up lol. Soon after, we we’re thanked for coming and she walked to the back. I knew that could not be the last song though. ‘Bass…High-Hat….808’ rang out and the audience went CRAZY, as Beyonce gave an encore performance of ‘Déjà Vu’.
* Matthew Knowles sat right behind us for the entire concert at the mixing/recording pit
* Crowd was hyped all the way through
* Her band was incredible…very talented.
* She gave both her band and dancers time to shine.
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