The stars of the show, meanwhile, sat respectfully to the side and sang backup as Sweat worked the stage. Kelly, “Songs on 12 Play.”Īnd then…Kelly himself strolled onto the stage, stogie in hand, to perform a medley of his hits, including “Ignition” and “Bump N’ Grind.”īrown and Songz continued the surprise-a-thon with Sweat, whose nearly-20 year-old “Nobody” still resonated – and was heartily sung by thousands of fans who weren’t even born when it was released. Given the similar pace of all of the songs (“Love Faces,” “Don’t Judge Me,” etc.), the segment started to drag until Songz and Brown crisscrossed the stage for their homage to R. They took turns unspooling their most emotive ballads – first Brown, now wearing a fur-collared jacket, with the steamy “Take You Down,” then a red hoodie-clad Songz with “Neighbors Know My Name.” The pair re-emerged together, slapping hands at center stage before retreating to red chair erected on opposite ends of the stage.
But it turned out that was merely the warm up. Cohen/.īrown utilized his stage time to travel back to those more innocent days, employing lasers to accompany “Wall to Wall” and his original Gumby-like moves on his 2005 breakthrough, “Run It.”ĭespite the overuse of tracks, Brown was singing on the majority of his songs, even reminding of his young Michael Jackson vocal tendencies on the silken-grooved "Strip" and, obviously, the "Human Nature"-sampling "She Ain't You."īy the time both Songz and Brown finished their respective sets, it likely would have been enough to sate most fans. His frequent run-ins with the law and his own misguided decisions have continuously derailed his still-escalating career (the Atlanta show was originally slated for last month, but was postponed because Brown hadn't completed his court-ordered community service).īut when he requested, of course, that “all my ladies make some noise,” the ensuing roar sounded an awful lot like forgiveness.īrown looked even happier when R. No doubt, despite his unarguable talent, Brown is still a polarizing figure.
It seemed that most in the predominantly female crowd were happiest when a video of Songz stripping down to his six-pack played as a prelude to “I Invented Sex.”īut as the light stayed down, indicating that Brown would soon slowly emerge from a space in the stage wall, baseball cap tugged over his bowed head and plum-colored hair, the frenzy escalated.īacked by a team of male dancers, Brown launched his portion of the show with “X,” winding up his body as the song reached its EDM-like climax and then bursting into one of his fleet-footed moves.īrown’s voice, a more nasal counterpoint to Songz’s creamy croon, wasn’t the focus of “Came To Do.” Far more interesting was his controlled, loose-limbed flailing at times it looked as if his shoulders might wiggle away unattached from his body. The 30-year-old loverman is primarily a singer, not an entertainer, but he ably worked the stage in his black V-neck T-shirt, a wad of gold chains hanging from his neck. – who popped out to add his nimble wordplay to “Not for Long” with Songz. The sold-out throng escalated their shrieking when deep bass thrusts announced the first guest – Atlanta’s B.o.B. With no band in sight for either Songz or Brown (though the latter had a couple of male backup vocals providing an assist), the musical backing was left to tracks.
His “Cake” is an Usher-lite head-nodder, while “All We Do” gushed with emotion thanks to Songz’s versatile voice. Songz, at least, drizzles romance atop his bedroom teases. Trey Songz showcased his versatile voice.