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Reviews
Melanie Fiona brought The Bridge to life on Tuesday night in a high-energy, dynamic and electrifying performance at London’s Jazz Cafe.
The night started with a stellar warm-up set by new artist
Daley, whose soulful simpers sailed effortlessly over
Maxwell’s “Pretty Wings” amongst his own tracks to a moderately full crowd.
When
Melanie Fiona graced the stage around 30 minutes later, however, the space was packed to almost-sweatbox conditions and the crowd welcomed her with rapturous applause. The intimate surroundings served Melanie well as she explained that, while she enjoyed touring in huge arenas
with Alicia Keys, “I love being able to see your faces!”
Of all the proposed jumps from grimy street rhymer to polished, radio friendly 'superstar', the expected transformation of Jermaine Scott better known as Wretch 32 was always going to be intriguing. For the north London rapper's immense lyrical performances and fondness for conceptual material seems vacant within many of the successful acts from the urban pop market. But with three exceptional chart singles, an abundance of festival appearances plus receiving the nod of appeal from both the underground and mainstream radio platforms, Wretch stands in a position which very few have been able to reach. But can Black and White, the second album from Mr 32 paint a more vivid picture than the current hoard of paint-by-numbers projects on offer from the rest?