This weekend I took my sister to see Fantasia. The former American idol winner and Grammy award winner performed in Beaumont, TX to an audience of about 5,000 people.

Despite a crowd that was relatively small Fantasia put on quite a show. Complete with a full band, lights, background vocalists and a smooth transition through many of her fan favorites and her favorite songs. From the moment she hit the stage her energy, her bands energy, and the audiences energy was high!

One thing that stood out is Fantasia sung every song live and did so without losing script, but displaying emotion to take every audience member on a journey. There were married men, married women, gay men, gay women, old men, old women and everyone at some point were on their feet singing along to at least one song.

After that show it was safe for me to say that, Fantasia is arguably one of the most underrated artists. You won’t find many artists who sing live and sound just as good on their record.

She even threw in a few dance moves and gave her band members an opportunity to shine. She remixed a few of her songs to create jazz, rock and roll, and mid tempo versions. Did I mention she performed with a full band?

It’s sad to say that my ticket was a little over $50 and for that price and the drive to Beaumont I felt like I owed her money. She poured her soul and her emotions out on that stage and she did so with class.

Imagine if artists who work hard to not miss a note, showed up on time, sang live, and interacted with the audience. Instead today far too many artist with subpar voices, lackluster lyrics and simply a cute look receive way more attention and charge more for a lot less show.

I look forward to the day when vocalists and performers make a return and receive the accolades, the attention, and compensation for the work they put in. Despite what I considered to be a small crowd she was just as gracious and just as pleasant. Cheers to Fantasia!

  

Click for Concert Footage: Fantasia Concert Footage