The world-renowned Kennedy Center welcomed Grammy and Tony Award winner Heather Headley on Saturday, September 7th, for an evening of show-stopping hits, where The National Symphony Orchestra backed her under the conduction of Steven Reineke.
Heather Headley is currently on hiatus from her successful Netflix show “Sweet Magnolias” following her recent performance in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods. During her performance, Headley’s set list omitted her R&B material and instead showcased favorites from her illustrious stage career, featuring selections from “Aida,” “The Lion King,” and “The Color Purple.” The audience was treated to a spirited rendition of “One Night Only” from the orchestra from “Dreamgirls” before Headley graced the stage in a stunning gown.
The show kicked off with a lovely one-two punch of “Over the Rainbow” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” which set the stage for an emotional rendition of “Still Hurting” from “The Last Five Years.” Following a medley of popular tunes, it was time for an intermission. The show’s second half focused on Gospel with tunes including “River Deep” and “Your Song.” One highlight of the show’s second half was the guest and first winner of “The Voice,” who easily won the crowd with his smooth vocals.
The night closed out with the tune “Make Them Hear You” from “Ragtime” and was followed by an encore of the Whitney Houston classic “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” While some fans may have been let down not hearing Headley’s classics such as “In My Mind,” “He Is,” and “I Wish I Wasn’t,” it was clear she has a voice that can sing anything with elegance.
Final Grade: A
This week’s Second Listen Sunday pick takes us back to 2006 to revisit “So Amazin’,” the third album from Christina Milian. Arriving in stores on April 19 of that year, the project was produced largely by Cool & Dre, sans one song, and saw the singer earn writing credits on nine of the album’s songs.
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I want to showcase love for Rahsaan Patterson and his album track “Can We Wait a Minute” from his self-titled debut album, released in 1997.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to take a trip back to 2000 and show some love to the R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo and their third album, “X,” which was released in stores on December 5, just in time for a holiday stocking stuffer. Arguably, the group suffered from the sophomore slump with their second album, as only two singles were successful.