Live Review

Janelle Monae – Academy 2, Manchester

• 15th Dec 2010

Janelle Monae is unlike your typical R&B singer. Championed by industry heavyweights such as Diddy, Janelle does not conform to expectations. A truly original songstress. I was really excited to see her strut her stuff live in Manchester. An intimate venue which suited her unique, quirky style; the show was amazing.

Tracks ‘Dance or Die’ and ‘Tightrope’ went down a storm with the crowd. Easily flipping genres to add a range of funk and soul into her music Janelle, with a quiff Amy Winehouse would be proud of, absolutely rocked the small Academy to the bones. A stripped down version of ‘Smile’ was so soulful and her energy throughout the higher tempo tracks was immense.

A measure of a good gig is to gauge reactions at the end and everybody I saw wore huge smiles on their faces.

This girl is definitely one to watch throughout the coming year; if you don’t like your bog standard pop music then this is the artist for you. Her album the ArchAndroid is available now and if you fancy a slice of alternative R&B music I recommend it.