Dawn Richard

J Events: Danity Kane performing at Irving Plaza in New York City

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>>If you are a real Danity Kane/MTB fan, you know you remember this scene.

When I was 14, I never missed an episode of Making the Band 3. My friends and I would sit together at lunch and analyze everything that happened with Danity Kane and Day 26, perform choreography, and yes, harmonizing badly (vis-a-vis the above).

Needless to say, when I watched the group crumble in the season finale, I took it personally.

I was definitely disappointed the whole group couldn’t work out their differences (and don’t get me started on Aundrea backing out just months after they announced their reunion), but I’ll take what I can get with the newly dubbed “DK3” — Dawn, Shannon and Aubrey. Who ever liked D. Woods anyway…

Tamar - Shade

Nine years after MTBIII’s premiere, let me get to Danity Kane’s performance at Irving Plaza in NYC.

Danity Kane Irving Plaza
Image via deji0812’s Instagram

My 4 takeaways:

    1. I expected Dawn to be the star of the show — she wasn’t. Out of the five members of the group, Dawn has been the only one to consistently put out music and retain some buzz in the industry, so I assumed she would be the frontman, but they were very diplomatic with lead vocals and the choreography. No one got more shine than the others.
    2. The sound was TERRIBLE. I don’t know if it was the sound engineer or the venue’s system, but good Lord. I couldn’t hear anything the girls were saying from the moment they stepped on the stage, and what’s more, I couldn’t really hear what they singing either. Major factor…
    3. Lip-synching and backing track… why? Throughout the show, they used back tracking complete with ALL of the pre-recorded vocals. I can understand why some of the high-energy performances (perhaps) required lip-synching but it made it impossible to hear what was (meant to be) live and what wasn’t, to the point where I can’t make one single comment about how they sounded, vocally, because I have no clue.
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    4. The crowd was HYPE, and they had every right to be. Despite the sound issues, DK killed the performance. I just knew Dawn was going to come out and outshine everyybody, but all of the girls held their own. You can tell they are taking this seriously, and they’ve been working hard. I can’t imagine doing more than 5 minutes of their choreo, let alone doing it while carrying a baby.

With their latest releases “Lemonade” and “Rhythm of Love,” it would seem the girls are shifting their sound away from the R&B-influences of the past, but I hope they can find that hit single to get them back on top.

I would love to see what they could do on tour with a budget… slayyage.

BONUS: For anyone who wants to take a trip down memory lane, you can watch the final season with the whole group on YouTube. Anyone else here for a new MTB season?

J Music: Dawn Richard at S.O.B.s

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A huge fan of Making the Band and Danity Kane, I have seen Dawn’s career blossom from the beginning.  When it was announced that Dirty Money was no more and Dawn had been release from Bad Boy to begin her solo career, I wondered what direction she would take her music.

Fast forward to this week, Dawn would headline the night’s show as she celebrates her new EP GoldenHeart.  The EP would go on to be #1 on iTunes following its release, although Dawn is now an independent artist and the EP does not have any features. All the reviews I have seen have been extremely positive, noting the electronic, progressive, “medieval meets modern” (MuMuse) sound that is unique to Dawn’s music.

I was able to get a preview of the EP before the performance (thanks to Spotify).  Though her sound is not exactly my cup of tea, I could watch her perform anything and I would have enjoyed it.

Dawn Richard at S.O.B.s

She killed her performance!!!! *two snaps* Dawn opened her set with hard hitting choreography and her upbeat tracks. This is where she really shined.  As a performer, one of the hardest things to learn is performing with your face — you could see the years of training as every move and facial expression was purposeful.  Her dancers matched her energy 150%.

Set List

  • “Faith”
  • “Bombs”

(I love the choreography in this video. Watch it here.)

  • “Northern Lights”
  • “Heaven”
  • “Scripture”
  • “B****, Don’t Kill My Vibe” Cover
  • “Damage”
  • “Gleaux”
  • “86”

Find Dawn’s website here.

J Music: Ro James at S.O.B.s

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Another great night at S.O.B.s! Ronnie “Ro” James opened up the night with a short set that included a cover of “Creep,” by Radiohead, and his original tracks “Neon” and “Pledge Allegiance.” Although Ro had trouble hearing himself in the monitors, he did his best to work through the technical difficulties and put on a good performance for the crowd.

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A New York native (amongst other infuences), Ro was dressed in a Fedora hat and leather overalls with two sleeves of tattoos and a gleaming gold tooth. I was a bit thrown off by Ro’s appearance —in a good way (I think).  His demeanor, dress, and direct lyrics seemed to contrast his smooth, sensual tone. I was curious to learn what influenced his image and sound.

Find “Introducing Ro James” below.

Check out Ro’s website here.