"I've talked a lot about New York tonight" Alicia Keys stated to the packed out, high energy crowd at the AO Arena after singing New York City and Empire State of Mind. "Now I want to talk about Manchester."
The opening bars of The Smiths' This Charming Man then rang out, and to my amazement Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr joined a resplendent Alicia on stage. Being a self confessed indie fan myself, I am enough of a music lover to have a widely eclectic taste in music and to be able to appreciate the beauty of a singer like Alicia Key's powerful voice.
But never did I expect to see her singing The Smiths next to Marr. It really was quite a moment.
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Alicia herself is fresh from a magical performance at The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, where she sang a spellbinding set including Empire State of Mind and changed the lyrics from New York to 'London' midway to honour the city she was playing in. Having Manc rock royalty alongside here for this gig felt like her way of honouring Manchester - which she professed to love throughout her set.
Dressed in a black trouser suit and enough sparking jewels to actually rival the Queen, hair pulled back in to a long bejewelled plait, she divided her time between sitting at her piano, dancing and indeed disappearing off stage and reappearing to perform at the opposite end of the arena. It gave people at the back a period of a fabulous vantage point before Alicia was escorted on her walk back through the crowds to the main stage again.
Mixing old favourites and new material from her 2021 eighth studio album Keys, songs such as Girl On Fire, Fallin', Superwoman, Empire State of Mind and You Don't Know My Name had everyone on their feet. As well as singing The Smiths, Alicia also surprised by singing other material that isn't hers including nineties club hit Gypsy Woman (she's Homeless) by Crystal Waters.
Alicia wasn't just vocal with singing, taking time to chat to the arena, offering affirmations and love. "You may not always feel like a superwoman, " she said, "You may not always feel on fire."
But on fire Alicia was, delivering a slick but highly charged performance to a warm audience who wouldn't let her go when she left the stage. They called her back for an encore that ended with If I Ain't Got You from her 2003 album The Diary of Alicia Keys.
Alicia's range and tone was as soulful as ever, enough to give goose bumps, enough to transport you mentally to her part of the world. Bringing a little bit of her Jubilee magic to Manchester - this was a polished performance that certainly brought a touch of New York City to the arena and with the shock appearance of Marr left many in a Manchester State of mind.
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