Usher Gets Hearts Racing In Sunrise
April 27, 2011
BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, FL
Written by Patty Canedo
Usher whipped the crowd of South Floridian chicas to a fever pitch with a stop at the BankAtlantic Center on Wednesday night. Atlanta’s son is hailed for his outrageous performances, boosting his reputation as the “King of R&B”.
Usher literally descended on the BankAtlantic stage from the rafters above in a post-apocalyptic scene, opening the show with “Monstar”. From this vanquished stage and costume of destruction emerged the highly charged “She Don’t Know” and “Yeah”.
But a quickie stage and ensemble make-over lead to a nostalgic set with a look at early Usher faves. The nearly full arena took part in the classics “U Remind Me”, “U Don’t Have to Call” and “U Make Me Wanna”. With the crowd already on its feet it was time to blow them away.
The next stop on the “OMG” agenda, a galactic extravaganza. Ready for liftoff? “Mars v. Venus” boosted the performance to other worldly. And even as Usher took this chapter of “OMG” to “Nice & Slow”, the night was anything but.
But what would an evening with an R&B icon if he didn’t set the mood for a little romance? After all that’s why the ladies love him, that and how he strategically seems to flash the washboard. Searching for just the right audience gal from the audience to swoon on stage proved to be more difficult than you would think.
After Usher combed the fans in an exhaustive ten minute search, he found his inspiration. The lucky lady was whisked away for an onstage interlude with Usher and a tantra chair for a very personal rendition of “Trading Places”. This fan may have hit the jackpot for the evening but the entire arena was swooning.
While Usher escorted his date for the evening off stage, the crowd was segwayed into Club Momentum! Usher busted out on the stage with “Love In This Club”, “Lil Freak” and “Hot Tottie”. At that point, if anyone was still in there seat they weren’t any longer.
But it’s hard to discuss Usher as a performer without paying homage to his inspiration, Michael Jackson. In a somber moment dedicated to the late King of Pop, Usher moon walked and gyrated to a MJ classic compilation, highlighting the career that undoubtedly influenced his own.
While the crowd was moved by the moment, they were quickly moved again by a “DJ Rave”. Belting out a mix from 2004’s Confessions brought the venue to a screaming crescendo.
Though it’s nice to reminisce, let’s not forget why we embarked on this Usher excursion,Raymond v. Raymond. Usher brought the house down and pulled no punches with “DJ Got Us Falling In Love” and “More”.
With an opener like Akon, the audience was already bumping when Usher took the stage. You could hear the crowd salivating as Akon graced the stage with nothing but tighty whiteys and got dressed for the occasion. Does the BankAtlantic not house enough dressing rooms for two majorly ripped six packs? Well thank God!
He immediately got the crowd on its feet with “I’m A Be Me”. Akon’s entire performance was a beat busting compilation of hits. Tracks like “Soul Survivor”, “Angel”, and “Dangerous” ignited the crowd. Akon had no problem showing off his ab-ssets to the crowd but his performance was quite modest. He brought on a powerful performance with a back up singer/DJ, a couple more in the band and his rock hard … voice.
Since the crowd was already drooling, Akon gave them a taste of his new single “Wake Up Call”. One more time, Akon brought the house to hits feet and left the stage steaming for Usher.
Even though it hasn’t been long since Usher’s last visit to South Florida (New Year’s Eve), the arena was packed on all levels and screaming for MORE.
Photos By Christina Mendenhall
Leave a Reply