Returning to Manchester for the first time since September’s controversial Cathedral show, the five-time Grammy Award-wining RnB superstar kicked off the Bank Holiday weekend in style.
The evening marked the fifth stop of her Set the World on Fire tour’s European leg, as Ms Keys takes her latest number-one album to 24 different countries.
Birmingham soul man Jacob Banks provided some chilled-out support including covers of Bob Marley’s Is this Love and The Zutons’ Valerie – conserving the crowd’s energy for what was still to come.
Beginning with a futuristic-style journey through the Manhattan skyline with a few bars of Empire State of Mind (Part II), the New York songstress managed to whet the audience’s appetite without even showing her face.
Stepping out moments later in a sparkling silver bodice cut down the middle together with with a trilby, looking more Smooth Criminal-esque Michael Jackson than feminine idol, Keys was here to thrill.
Launching into Karma quickly followed by You Don’t Know my Name, two tracks from her 2003 album The Diary of Alicia Keys, she had a faithful audience eating out of her hand from the off.
Performing with backing band and aided by a troupe of energetic men – something visibly lacking from the audience – the night revolved around the platinum-selling album Girl on Fire.
Feeling more like a stage show than a concert at times, Keys acted out the exchanges of a relationship’s early moments with an on-screen partner between songs.
But then there was no need to keep the crowd warm with interjecting speech – as clichéd as it sounds, the songs really did do the talking.
While more than capable of setting the arena alight with synth-stompers like When It’s All Over, it was her more mellow songs that really demonstrated her quality.
Sharing the stage with just a piano for numbers such as 101 and Not Even the King, the 33-year-old perfectly maintained the intimacy so often lost on the big stages.
With a tour sponsored by Blackberry it seemed apt that the evening’s most magical showpiece should be created by mobile phones as she performed her biggest-selling hit, No One, amidst a carpet of electronic fireflies.
Momentarily dashing off for a quick wardrobe change the New York sensation left the audience in the hands of her backing duo, before returning to explode into New Day – even bringing the drums out for a bit of added girl power.
After thanking her legions of fans Keys let her vocal chords loose with On Fire, the title track from her tour-spawning album, before leaving the stage to an ovation of screams.
Minutes later she returned in a sparkling black gown as the night went full-circle.
Frank Sinatra’s New York New York provided an entrance for rap-king Jay-Z, a video at least, to perform the start of Empire State of Mind – a track the pair combined on in 2009.
And as Mr Carter’s face left the screen it was replaced by the Manhattan skyline once more as Ms Keys took the crowd through the concrete jungle and out into the Manchester night.
Although arguably not as risqué or as attention-grabbing as her contemporaries Beyoncé or Rihanna, Alicia Keys knows she doesn’t have to be.
A masterful performance from an artist at the top of her game.
Picture courtesy of Walmart Corporate, with thanks.
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