Ciara to the stage, Ciara to the stage…
Just moments after premiering the twerk-tastic video for “I’m Out” with Nicki Minaj (and by moments, I mean several hours of suffering through Chris Tucker‘s shrill voice), CiCi made her way onto the stage at the BET Awards last night to perform “I’m Out,” as well as her current #1 on the Billboard Urban Radio Charts, “Body Party.”
It was easily the best performance of the night — and one of CiCi’s best TV performances ever.
The performance opens on Nicki, sitting pretty on the stairs. No goofy wigs, no dumb costumes or elaborate stage design — just a straightforward, spitfire delivery of her verse. Can I just reiterate, again, how much I’m falling back in love with Mizz Minaj as of late? She’s reeled it in over the past few months, and it feels like a return to the halcyon days of Mixtape Minaj.
Suddenly, Ci appears: A flawless, smoky silhouette amongst a spark of pyrotechnics at top of the stage. And then, she goes in.
Honestly, it’s all so, so good. The choreography is tight, raw and super turnt up. The transition from “I’m Out” to “Body Party” is seamless. It’s all one major hold-your-breath moment of grinding, strutting, shimmying, hip-twerking and dropping down to the ground, all the way to the very end. (She even finishes on a fierce diva moment, wind machine and flowing robe and all!)
Immediately following the performance, “Damn Ciara” became the #1 Trending Topic worldwide, and for good reason — every aggressive hip twerk, every booty drop, every slow grind was pure sex, and the performance was nothing short of…uh, damn. Future is one lucky man, because CiCi clearly knows how to ride it (as if we didn’t already know.)
Shade her frequent misfortunates as you may, but Ciara’s still a better performer than most pop acts today — and she doesn’t need anything but the stage. Luckily, she’s able to showcase her skills on a much larger stage than George Lopez for the Ciara era.
In moments, it felt like we were watching Janet‘s “That’s The Way Love Goes / If” performance from the 1993 VMA’s, or Britney‘s “Oops” performance at the 2000 VMA’s.
Pure, unstoppable excellence.
Now that’s what I call a fantasy ride.
Ciara‘s dropping next week. Have you enlisted in the One Woman Army yet?