Ne-Yo
****
Brighton Centre, September 17
Ne-Yo is underrated.
If ever in doubt, his UK tour confirms it.
You are forgiven for thinking he left the R&B scene years ago – his caramel vocals have been somewhat absent from the charts recently.
But the years in between were spent piecing together cleverly written number ones for superstars such as Rihanna and Beyoncé.
Screaming fans were treated to his rendition of these songs, alongside a nearly complete back catalogue of the favourites.
Opening with his decade-old second single So Sick, he had the measure of a crowd who were ready and willing to dance and sing their way through the entire hour-and-a-half set.
There were even cheers when he told of his newfound vegan diet.
Self-assured, he needed little more than his live band, signature trilby and his smooth dance moves to command the stage and keep the audience captivated.
In between Miss Independent, Because of You, Closer, Sexy Love and Beautiful Monster he found time to test out new music from his forthcoming Good Man album, lead four fans in a dance-off as well as enlist the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to his wife who appeared on stage.
Bidding farewell with Give Me Everything and Let Me Love You, he reminded why he is still worth watching.
Flora Thompson
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