Alicia Keys delivered quite a strong set. She is no longer rooted behind the keyboard all night. She’s taken to dancing, “conducting” and leading her band like an instrument, Prince-style. It works more often than not. Once in a while, it seemed a little unnatural, but she’s new at the front woman game so she deserves a little time to work out the kinks. When behind her piano, she can’t be touched. “A Woman’s Worth,” “Diary” and (of course) “Fallin’” were deep excursions into the female soul but her covers may have been even more telling. The Jackson 5’s “Never Can Say Goodbye” was tossed in against Ray Charles’ “The Night Time (Is The Right Time)” and she made them sound equally as poignant and bluesy. Perhaps the highlight of the short set was Prince’s “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore” which found the crowd slinging lines back at Alicia. It was all timeless and satisfying. It was near perfect.

Beyonce is the Diana Ross of our generation; there is no doubt about it. Onstage, she’s confident, strong and an overwhelmingly evocative singer. Plus, she seems real. She’s just plain sexy, never desperate and she connects. Arriving onstage like Cleopatra, carried through the audience by her dancers, Ms. Knowles launched into a 70-minute set with a bouncing “Baby Boy.” Even though she has only one solo album to her credit, she still managed to come across as the established artist that she is. Everything was right in its place. Whether it was the video flames during the first number, her demand for love from her audience (and sending it back) or simply belting out notes that no one should be able to hit while dancing, Beyonce had it all. The glitzy production never overshadowed the star, in fact it only strengthened the intensity of the live (re: no lip-synching) experience.