The P.C. Richard and Son Theater in Manhattan was more packed than it has ever been, and for good reason. Fans waited anxiously to hear Alicia Keys play a 6-song-set that would leave something to be desired, not because it was lacking, but because it was just too short. She could play for two hours and it would feel too short.

Her forthcoming album The Element of Freedom doesn’t drop until December, and she even pushed it back in the spirit of not stunting her creative juices. But that only made it clear that everyone is eagerly anticipating the return of Alicia.

The theater holds 200 people, but it felt like double that as the crowd pressed toward the front of the room in anticipation of the 11-time Grammy winner. Power 105.1 DJ Ed Lover introduced her as “The First Lady of Song, the incomparable Alicia Keys.”

In a white mini dress, black tights and tall black stiletto boots with a black jacket, Alicia kicked off the show with an oldie, “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” a song from the heart of a longing woman. “Will you ever know my name?” she sang. Yes, Alicia, we certainly will. We already do. With the unparalleled success of her career – she’s got 87 awards under her belt – and previous smash hits like “Fallin’” and “No one” how could we not?

After her first song she sat down at the piano, a perch she’s occupied since she was seven years old, so it’s no wonder that she seems most comfortable there. “We officially wrapped yesterday,” she announced to the audience, referring to the completion of her album, before playing the first single, “Doesn’t Mean Anything.” The product of her impeccable songwriting ability, her connection with her instrument and her signature soulful voice was enriched by 4 backup singers and a full band.

“We wanna do a song that’s a favorite of mine,” Alicia told the crowd, “We’d like to do it our style.” She covered Coldplay’s “Clocks,” in the fashion of Alicia Keys, and perhaps it’s a matter of taste, but some might say that her rendition was better than the original. Apologies, Chris Martin.

Alicia also played “Superwoman,” a song she says many people misinterpret to mean that we are always supposed to be strong. “That’s not what it means. It means we are strong when we admit we’re weak,” she explained, “We are superhuman but we are human as well.” Maybe the rest of us, Alicia. “I am a superwoman,” she belted, and indeed she is. She is talented beyond compare, and stunningly beautiful inside and out.

The penultimate song of the night was her latest single, “Try sleeping with a broken heart,” a song she called her “supersupersupersupersupersuper joint,” a song everyone who has ever been brokenhearted can relate to, a song that is heartbreaking, and yet somehow also empowering.

But she saved the best for last. It’s almost impossible in New York City to go for an entire day without hearing Jay-Z and Alicia’s smash hit “Empire State of Mind” blaring from someone’s car at the very least. The song has become New York’s modern anthem, a sort of updated ode to the city with the same sincere reverence that Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” evokes. Alicia played a stripped down version of the hit sans Jay-Z, saying, “You’re the first ones to hear this this way… I wanna play this for you different than you ever heard it before.” Heavy on the piano, her interpretation of the hit, dubbed “Empire State of Mind Part II,” sounded like it was straight out of a Broadway musical, not in an overdone or cheesy kind of way, but in a purely exciting way that gave this audience member goosebumps. Walking out into the concrete jungle where dreams are made of after hearing that song sung so passionately by the incomparable Alicia Keys, it was impossible not to leave feeling… inspired.

Thanks Vanessa for all the links