I’M SO IMPRESSED with Alicia Keys’ live YouTube performance. Her look. Her sound. Her band. All fabulous! It was such a great use of technology to bring the performance and the cause to those not physically attending. #AmexAlicia, the designated hashtag on Twitter, became a trending topic during the show and by the end of the show was at number 3. Alicia performed a melody of hits from her first debut album, Songs in A Minor, to her latest album, Element of Freedom, that will release on December 15. To be honest, I’m glad she switched it up. I’m not really feeling the first two singles from her album. I just found out today that Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart was her second single – which means I totally missed the first single! Out of the songs that she performed, which I included below, I’m most excited about Love is Blind. For 6 years to have passed, I, along with the millions of other A Keys fans, am anxiously awaiting the Element of Freedom. December 15 everybody! Don’t forget!

Songs that Alicia performed:
Love is Blind
Karma
You Don’t Know My Name
Doesn’t Mean Anything
Wreckless Love
Diary
Distance and Time
If I Ain’t Got You
Superwoman
Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart
Like You’ll Never See Me Again
Falling
No One
Empire State of Mind – and there was a surprise appearance by Jay-Z

I feel like Amerie is one of the best artists that has never received the recognition she deserves! I used to jam to her albums and when I listened to my Amerie channel on Pandora this weekend, I realized that I need to but her 3 albums back in rotation. With a quickness, I listened to All I Have, Touch and Because I Love It today while working. I had a hard time deciding which album is my favorite, but I think Touch can win the award for “Amerie’s Best Album” because it displays her growth to include a playful mature sound. Although, All I Have comes in a close second with great ballads! The tracks Falling, Like It Used to Be, Why Don’t We Fall in Love Remix, and Not the Only One are some fire tracks! We need some more music and artists similar to Amerie, but I’m not disappointed as rumor has it that she is working with L.A. Reid for a new album to be released in 2009….

Touch