I have to say that the highlights of the Soul Train Music Awards were R. Kelly’s performance and the Anita Baker tribute. The lowlights were the awkward skits between Taraji and Terrance, but I won’t dwell on that. Was it me or were there a lot of ass cheeks showing during this telecast? I’ll stop skipping around and go through the recap in the order of occurrence. R. Kelly opened the show with his new song “When a Woman Loves” and I thought he turned the place out, even though he was lip synching. That’s the way to do a creative, memorable performance for an awards show. The AMA performers should take note. I especially loved the section where he did a throwback to soul singers like Frankie Lymon and I believe that was supposed to be Ray Charles. That was a stand out performance. Why are the pedophiles and wife beaters always the greatest entertainers? I’ll have to delve into that topic deeper at a later date. FYI – I really don’t need to see a live performance from Ne-yo ever again. They just don’t do anything for me. I appreciate his talents when it comes to writing music, but I just don’t need to see his soup coolers or his milk dud head or his attempts to dance battle anymore. I loved every second of the Anita Baker tribute. Every artist sounded great. Though, I must admit, I had no idea what song Kem and Rachelle Ferrell were singing until they got to the chorus. That was a unique rendition. Was it me or did you feel like they were channeling Al Jarreau? Lalah Hathaway was amazing. She needs to thank her Daddy for that tone. (I’m sure she does.) Why wasn’t Chante Moore a part of the Anita Baker tribute? I saw her in the audience and Ms. Baker mentioned in her video package that they were acquaintances. Aw, Goapele is so cute…even though she was flirting with my man that one time, but that’s ok. I forgive her. What? Dionne Farris? Where did they find her? Her shirt was a couple sizes too small for her, but she sounded pretty good. Oh yippee! El DeBarge. I just love him. Not sure why they brought him on after the tribute was over, but at least they brought Anita back to spend some quality time with him. Ok, here we go. This is the BET I know. Why would they come back from the commercial break at the end of Eric Benet’s performance? Not that I’m pressed to hear him beg for Halle Berry to come back to him, but I’m just saying. That seemed a little unprofessional. Oh look here. There’s a note at the bottom of the screen addressed to Eric Benet fans telling them to log on to the web if they want to see the entire performance. How rude. Wish they would’ve done that for Ne-yo instead. I don’t really have much to say about Wolf Blitzer. I realize Cee-Lo in a gold moo-moo may be off-putting to some, but I kind of like it. And I love that song, but I prefer the unedited version. Apparently Tank isn’t good enough to get his entire song broadcast either. I bet Eric Benet wasn’t too happy to discover he’s been D-listed. First he has to open for Fantasia’s tour even though he’s been out way longer than she has, and now this. I like Jasmine Sullivan and think she has an incredible voice, but I prefer to see her stand still and sing. Bruno Mars did a great job with his song, “Grenade”. I enjoyed him on the guitar as well. So if we were going to compare the tributes, which we probably shouldn’t, I’d have to say the Ronald Isley tribute was a let down. Keyshia Cole was good, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention her new teeth and how distracting they are. (That goes for you too Brandy.) Did Tank almost forget the lyrics? Is Tank trying to sound like Jamie Foxx or is Jamie Foxx starting to sound like Tank. Not sure which came first…the chicken or the egg? I know they’re friends, but they really are starting to sound alike. OMG, could Freddie Jackson be any gayer. Did you see how he walked out? Jeffrey Osborne and Peabo Bryson haven’t lost their voices. Glad to hear that they still sound good. Oh, I see. That’s what they were saving Chante Moore for. Yeah, it was kind of cute to try and recreate the video, but kind of a waste of time for those thirty seconds. She should’ve sung an Anita Baker song instead.
Click here to check out the Anita Baker tribute.
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Can’t agree with you more. Why are the most talented among us such tortured souls? R. Kelly was quite entertaining! I truly enjoyed the Anita Baker medley. Anita has such a distinctive voice - a rich contralto that has no problem reaching the high notes. In my opinion, everyone can’t sing her songs as beautifully as she can because of her beautiful tone. Chrisette was my least favorite. And Kem & Rachelle Farell were quite a treat. Anita was so gracious in her acceptance speech. And I’ve always admired how she puts her children first. I see she’s still keeping them close. Even though I really liked several of the entertainers who sang her songs, I still would have loved to hear her sing at least one of her signature songs. It would have been tons more enjoyable than the mess Ron Isley made of his own songs.
ReplyDeleteNe-Yo obviously can’t sing and dance at the same time. He needs to make up his mind what he wants to do on stage. Let the dancers dance and give us a good live singing performance.
I’m thinking the performances that were cut to the end were sacrificed in order to stay within the telecast time limit. To tell the truth, based on the way the end of their songs sounded (Eric Benet, Tank, etc.) didn’t sound like we missed much.
Erika Badu is still weird. Wolf Blitzer was a waste of air time. Ce-Lo is weird but I like the song and the voice. His radio version was safe enough to get him on Ellen’s show without the gold gown. I’ve never been a Janelle Monae (?) fan, but I must say I was very impressed with her acceptance speech and brief story. But Lawd, please lose the pompadour. It’s way too distracting and unbecoming. Never heard Bruno Mars before – liked him.
I’ve never been a fan of Ron Isley’s voice so I much preferred hearing others sing their songs. I was tremendously disappointed when he wasted a great amount of time warbling his songs. Time would have been better spent with hearing some of the other great entertainers on the show. Poor Freddie. He was pitiful trying to imitate Luther’s style. Jeffrey Osborne – Wow – his voice is still so nice and mellow. And Peabo is still doing a good job maintaining his skills. But poor Freddie. Didn’t notice the walk because I was blinded by the pitiful outfit which he changed into to perform on stage (had a different one on while sitting in the audience).
One thing is for sure, this beat the heck out of the AMA’s. Go BET!
I agree with you. Chrisette Michele was my least favorite of the crew, but I disagree about wanting to hear Anita sing. She may have had a good voice back in the day, but a lot of her live performances in later years were unbearable to me. Anita also agrees. She was on the radio after the taping explaining that she wasn't prepared to sing against the other artists that are actively working because she hasn't exercised her voice well enough in a while to perform at that level. I appreciate that she realizes that instead of getting up there and giving a disappointing performance. I think Tamia did a great job with her rendition and Lalah Hathaway sounded better than Anita Baker ever did to me. I don't have a problem with Ron Isley singing his songs at the end of his tribute, but I do have a problem with his eyebrows and him getting his background singer pregnant when he's like 80 years old. Erykah Badu is weird...but that's why she's so good. Remember? The weird ones have the best music. I agree, Janelle Monae needs to let the pompadour go. I get that it was her thing, but how long can she really keep that up. I did like her speech though. Bruno Mars is really good. Poor Freddie. He was a little too excited.
ReplyDeleteReally, your only problem with Isley is his procreating ability at 80. Sounds like ageism to me. Don't forget you're not going to be young forever but life doesn't stop until you're six feet under.
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