Popular acts come to Columbia venue Sunday night
Akon, dressed in all white, took the stage to his customary beat drop and "Konvict" label shout-out, and immediately launched into his chorus on the well-known DJ Kahled track "We Takin' Over." The South Carolina fans — obviously excited for T.I.'s rap, which mentions their home state in the first verse — were left somewhat disappointed, as Akon delivered the song's hook and quickly moved on.
Minutes later, he performed his Young Jeezy collaboration "Soul Survivor," substituting "Sou'Car'lina" for "Young Jeezy," in his introduction, to the delight of the crowd. But this too was short-lived, as he merely sang the song's chorus and bridge before the music stopped abruptly and he stood smiling at the fans packing the arena.
This proved to be indicative of Akon's performance. The strength of his act was also its weakness; he managed to fit almost every one of his hits into the brief opening performance by singing only the choruses of the majority of the tracks. This meant everyone got to hear their favorite songs, but only snippets of them.
It was quickly clear just how much the singer has made his name by collaboration rather than recording songs of his own. He sang sing a few songs all the way through, including a high-energy version of "Don't Matter" in which he played conga drums and invited the crowd to sing the melodic "oh-oh's" along with him.
Akon's stage presence was notable. He engaged the crowd throughout, and women screamed as he peeled off his jacket and shirt and poured water on his bare chest.
"Columbia, you got me feeling good up here tonight," Akon told the crowd.
"Know why I feel so good?" he asked. Answering the question, he launched into his collaboration with comedy group The Lonely Island: "I Just Had Sex."
Usher followed Akon's act with an electrifying set of his own that started with him dancing on a stage suspended in the air, high over the crowd.
The main attraction of the night, one of Usher's claims to fame, was his dancing. He moonwalked, he glided, he breakdanced — he didn't stop moving the entire night. The flawless choreography, dramatic poses, soaring falsetto and red leather coat and tight black pants were reminiscent of Michael Jackson in his heyday.
And, paying tribute to the "King of Pop," Usher stepped into a pair of sparkling black high-top sneakers and danced to Jackson's "Billy Jean," before looking to the sky and thanking Jackson for his contribution to music and influence on his career.
Usher sang many of his own older tracks, appealing to long-time fans, before breaking out hits off of his 2010 album "Raymond v. Raymond."
He pointed out that his career has spanned 20 years and asked who in the audience had been there from the beginning. Then, after what seemed like 20 minutes of women screaming as he searched for his "biggest fan," the singer invited Columbia native Anna White to join him onstage for the sensual ballad "Trading Places."
"I was like 'Oh my God!' That was just it for me," White said afterward.
Upbeat club hit "Yeah!" had the audience doing the "A-Town Stomp" and singing along. "Confessions" brought even more cheers from the fans. And "Burn" featured another high-flying, above the audience solo performance.
But undeniably, the most exciting songs of the night came at the end. A literally explosive version of "More" featured fireworks that made several audience members jump and dance moves that would make Patrick Swazye blush. By the end, Usher was jumping up and down, pleading the crowd, "give me more."
Finally, he stood still, panting and covered in sweat, and it seemed he'd left the audience members nothing "more" to want. It didn't stop them from singing "OMG's" crowd chant chorus at the top of their lungs, however; they demanded an encore. Usher quickly obliged — the familiar, auto-tuned "Oh my-y" and synthesizer blared through the arena, as the entertainer finished off the night with the chart-topping hit.