Although Kanye West was clearly the headliner Tuesday night in his Glow in the Dark Tour at downtown Miami's AmericanAirlines Arena, the three other acts on the bill got plenty of love from the enthusiastic sold-out crowd.
Lupe Fiasco, who rocked the urban-prep look by popping up the collar of his red Polo, got everyone moving in unison with his hits Superstar and the cinematic, trip-hop-flavored Daydreamin', on which singer Nikki Jean filled in for Jill Scott's vocals.
N.E.R.D., featuring Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes, fused funk, rock and hip-hop with rowdy hits Brain and Rock Star. Williams, who now lives in Miami, gave his new city a shout-out, while dissing Tampa, which recently hosted the tour: ``Let me tell you something -- Tampa could never, ever touch Miami!''
New R&B-pop princess Rihanna crammed all her hits into a lively half-hour set, including Breakin' Dishes, Break It Off, Pon de Replay, SOS and Unfaithful. At times, though, her voice was either drowned out by the over-saturated drums or too weak in the lower registers to fill the room. But no worries: The crowd hopped up and down for Don't Stop the Music, during which dancers spun three-foot-long, neon-green glowsticks, and nearly outsang Rihanna on her ubiquitous hit Umbrella.
Before West came out, super producer Timbaland caused a stir by standing up and waving from the sound-mixing area when his song The Way I Are was blasted over the sound system.
But the night was all about West. With his band below the stage shrouded in darkness, he opened the show with Good Morning, the kick-off track from his latest album Graduation, while lying on his back in front of scenes from a distant planet -- stars, smoke, craggy rocks, meteorites, explosions -- a theme that would carry the night.
Though Kanye's focus was naturally on Graduation, he performed favorites from 2004's The College Dropout including Through the Wire and All Falls Down. He even poked fun at his notoriously confrontational side during Jesus Walks, saying in a skit: ``God, if you can just get me off this planet, I promise to stop talking so much s---. I promise to stop spazzing out at awards shows. I just wanna go home.''
West also tapped 2005's Late Registration with the tracks Heard 'Em Say, Diamonds From Sierra Leone (during which most of the crowd made diamond shapes with their hands) and Gold Digger. And the poignant moment of the night was when West egged on the crowd to scream during Hey Mama, his musical love letter to his mother, who died last November after complications from a surgical procedure.
Material from Graduation included a spirited version of Can't Tell Me Nothing, with the crowd rapping along to the lyrics ''I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny/And what do I do? Act more stupidly. Bought more jewelry, more Louis V/My mama couldn't get through to me''; the synth-heavy house music stomper Flashing Lights; and the buoyant hit Good Life. West predictably ended with his hit Stronger, which heavily samples French DJ duo Daft Punk's delirious dance anthem Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
But the night might be summed up best by a sample on West's song Champion, from Steely Dan's now obscure Kid Charlemagne: ``Do you realize that you are a champion in their eyes?''
