Lakisha Jones blows the roof off the joint as she sings “I Will Always Love You” Saturday Night in Manchester:
Although Lakisha was at the after party Sunday, I didn’t get a chance to speak with her. Lakisha in person, is how tiny she is. Tiny and pretty. Maybe her powerhouse vocals confers a larger-than-life quality on her. Or maybe the Idol camera people just didn’t know how to shoot her. I wish I had a picture–I really liked the beige outfit she was wearing at the after party.
Without a doubt, her performance of “I Will Always Love You” was a concert crowd favorite. Watch the video. She pauses right before the key change. The audience cheers at that moment. But, when she belts out the glory notes, the auditorium goes absolutely nuts. In this particular performance, she’s not feeling well (she didn’t return to the stage for the encore), but she still kills anyway.
I didn’t know it at the time, but LaKisha has some exciting news. She’s joining the New York cast of The Color Purple:
[Chaka] Khan and [BeBe] Winans will join the cast Jan. 9, 2008, in the roles of, respectively, Sofia and Harpo (Sofia’s husband). Jones will join the company a few weeks earlier, on Dec. 19, 2007, as the church soloist in the musical’s opening number. When Khan arrives, Jones will also play Sofia at the matinee performances.
Here’s a fun Christmas in New York activity: Catch “The Color Purple” before January 6th, and not only will you see LaKisha perform as the church soloist, but you will be able to catch the incredible Fantasia as Celie before she leaves the show in January…
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Thanks for posting this. That performance was awesome!
Incredible vocals and control on this song, Kiki has the pipes.
She will be aweome on broadway, So glad that she is living her dream for she and her adorable little girl, hoping for good things in her future
Kiki has a great voice! I
wish her the best in her future too. She deserves it!
Definitely goose-bump time. I would guess live it sounded amazing.
This song has definitely become an American Standard, so, good on you Dolly Parton!
Since they are doing a night of Dolly Parton songs next season on Idol, it’ll be interesting to see if another one of her songs gets a classic reinterpretation.
Lakisha has improved a lot over the months. She no longer sounds like a poor imitation of a reigning songstress. Now she has much better control and variety to her vocals.
Her stint in the Color Purple is just what she needs I think to move her to that next level of *performing* a song rather than just singing it well. And Sophia and the church soloist have some good numbers. And if Chaka’s legendary substance abuse issues return, LaKisha could be playing the larger role more often than anticipated.
You mention how tiny and pretty she is, and if she is indeed tiny, the camera packs about 10-20 lbs on a person. And no they didn’t shoot her from the right angle and/or those wigs got in the way.
But honestly, almost anyone can take a Whitney song and do a whitney rendition….if that person has a powerhouse voice. But it will always be Whitney’s song!
Damn, she sings the hell out of that song! Just wow! I really want to take my mom to see “Purple”. I went in May and was overwhelmed. I don’t know about how well Chaka will do on Broadway, but I think Kiki will get a chance or two as Sophia during the week…..just sayin’….and I love many renditions of this song, but Miss Dolly cashes the checks!
Abby: I wrote before, Chaka Khan is too old for the role of Sofia, she’s like 60 y.o. and in CP Sophia is a youngish mature woman who ages to about 40-45. And that scene where Harpo jumps on Sofia, they will have to rewrite that scene for Chaka. don’t see her doing that AT ALL!
Chicago-sally, Broadway has a way of making us suspend belief, but I too have a little problem with Chaka in this role. She does look good for her age, but playing Sophia might be a stretch. We shall see cause I want to see it again before Fantasia leaves in January.
Listening back to Kiki’s AI performances, I find a lot more quality and variety there than is perhaps remembered. I also see the shyness and fear in her demeanor, which some mistook for haughtiness.
As she moves on, I do hope Kiki makes the kind of recordings that really showcase the soulfulness in her compelling voice. A lot of very talented AI finalists have made mediocre first records, trying too hard to fit into some commercial contemporary groove they really don’t belong in.
Why not have Kiki and Melinda, free from the constraints of the AI machine, try to bring back the glory days of Chaka, Aretha et al? It will mean getting solid and catchy songs, crisp arrangements and going with their musical instincts rather than the advice of agents and handlers. And why not put their on spin on some covers of classic soul? I may be wrong about this, but I think a lot of listeners would be delighted by that if it’s done well….