You would think that by having a great and successful-selling album that’s capable of wining 5 Grammys would automatically make you a great performer. Never thought I’d have to say this about her but the above’s apparently not the image meant for the uber cool Alicia Keys.

At Jones Beach a couple of weeks ago, Alicia Keys offered an irregular show that lacked focus and couldn’t maintain momentum. The show was so choreographed and scripted that the R&B sensation, whom in my opinion is a very gifted artist, seemed very bored, which translated into smug insincerity under the lights.

It’s been reported that Alicia being bored was noticeable by all in the crowd quite early on, when she performed Prince’s ‘How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?’

In this overextended cover, Alicia tried to muster the angry emotions of a woman scorned, but it appears that she’s told this story one too many times, and the words now sound as if they are being sung by rote.

Even when she laughed during the show, it sounded like a rehearsed, scripted “ha ha ha”, rather than the spontaneous giggle a 21 year old would erupt in if there was actually something to laugh about.

With only one album to her credit, her songbook is understandably extremely limited, which might just explain why she gave at least 20 minutes up out of a 90 minutes gig to costume changes.