She set the night on fire alright, but referring to Alicia Keys’ glorious Dubai return after nine years (she also performed in Abu Dhabi in 2008) to just one hit song would be doing her a grave injustice. For this is one woman, who, 12 years and five albums in, remains at the forefront of music, minus the theatrics and the showy histrionics that so many artists need today to stay relevant.
That’s why on Friday night, as part of her Set the World on Fire tour at Dubai Media City’s amphitheatre, it was just Alicia Keys, a piano, her band, a few dancers and a very stripped-down stage (Jason Derulo performed earlier in the evening on the same stage, which tabloid! missed) — the only things you need really if you’re attending a concert for a true musical experience.
Kicking off with Karma from her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, the 32-year-old appeared on stage in a purple sequined top and black trousers, her hair in a faux hawk, and kept them on for the rest of the show. Yes, it was going to be about the music.
She followed it up with the song she wrote with Kanye West, You Don’t Know My Name, also from the same album, and settled on the piano. Then, during the song’s spoken part, she pulled out a BlackBerry (she’s the creative director of the company) and pretended to speak on the phone. Cheeky.
After the mellow Tears Always Win, Keys upped the tempo with Listen to Your Heart, both songs from her latest album Girl on Fire, as four dancers in black suits joined her on stage.
Mixing things up
The dancers disappeared as soon as they came, as Keys sat down at the piano again, mixing things up. There was the sad Like You’ll Never See me Again, from her third album, and then the soulful A Woman’s Worth, from her five-Grammy-winning debut album Keys in A Minor, as she showed off her vocal prowess, all lapped up enthusiastically by the crowd.
Despite spending so much time on the piano, she connected all throughout the evening with the thousands that have come to see her, never once missing a note as she went through her rich catalogue of hits after hits. The first massive cheer of the evening came when she led into Fallin’, also from her debut album.
“Dubai, you gotta help me sing this,” she shouted, as the amphitheatre echoed with strains of the chorus.
Then, right after the beautiful Brand New Me, written by her and Emeli Sande, Keys dedicated the poignant Not Even the King to her son Egypt, also co-written by Sande.
“I don’t care what they’re offering... How much gold they bring? They can’t afford what we’ve got, not even the king...” she sang, visibly emotional.
“I’m crazy excited to be here,” she then said to the audience. “I feel grateful to be back here, to spend this evening with you. We all need to remind ourselves what we should be grateful for.
“Tonight is our special night, so help me celebrate this,” she added, as she urged everyone to lift their phones up.
The venue darkened briefly and then was lit by a thousand mobile phones held up in the air as Keys broke into No One, one of her biggest hits.
20-song setlist
Aside from a brief break when her backing singers performed a song, Keys did not rest during her 20-song setlist.
Of course, she ended the night on a high, singing New Day and, with her on the drums, led into Girl on Fire as confetti flew about the venue. The highlight though, was the ender, Empire State of Mind, one of her biggest hits of all time, where she replaced ‘New York’ with ‘Dubai’ in the lyrics. A rapturous roar followed.
As we were filing out, someone remarked how much Keys looked like the legendary African-American singer and actress Lena Horne. In fact, she’s in talks to play Horne in a biopic. Keys may be a far way from being a legend, but she definitely proved she has all the makings to be one.
