Times Intern

 R&B powerhouse Ledisi took to the stage along with Eric Benét for an unforgettable one night performance at UAB’s Alys Stephens Center July 7 as part of the Be Good to Yourself Tour.
 Eric Benét gave an energizing opening act with songs from each album of his musical career. The act began with “Love Don’t Love Me” from his third studio album. Benét also performed some of his most well-known songs including “Sometimes I Cry”, “Spend My Life with You”, and his female scream inducing hit “Chocolate Legs.”
 Just when the audience thought the set was over, Benét surprised concert goers with a return to the stage for a final performance. Stripped of his grey suit jacket he’d worn earlier in the show, Benét left the audience with an up-tempo performance of “Georgy Porgy.”
 Following a brief intermission, Ledisi strutted onto the stage clad in a silver leg- baring, reflective dress, which she later exchanged for a pair of black pleather pants and a black jacket during the show.
 An opening clip gave an inner glimpse into the singer’s personal life, highlighting the doubts of the naysayers, and the negativity surrounding Ledisi’s Grammy nominations.
 “What a joke,” one critic said.
 Despite the controversy and the demands of the music industry, Ledisi is resilient, and her performance was more than enough proof.
 “I’m climbing up. This is the calling. I don’t see myself falling. So, shut up,” she sang during the accurately titled song “Shut Up”, which was written in response to her critics.
 Ledisi thrilled the audience with a combination of high powered vocals and fierce dancing, which included her wildly swinging, fiery red locks.  
 The night’s performance consisted of songs from Lost and Found, Turn Me Loose and her latest studio album Pieces of Me.
 While some songs such as the empowering “Pieces of Me” and “Bravo” were familiar to the audience, others, such as “Knocking on My Door” and “In the Morning”, were more obscure.
 However the audience’s inexperience with the lyrics didn’t stop the singer from encouraging the audience to sing along.
 “That was good, but can you do it on beat next time,” she joked.
 The final song “Pieces of Me”, an anthem of female empowerment, drew the crowd to its feet for an exciting finale.