R&B was truly present at B.B Kings restaurant in Times Square on January 20. Ladies were impressed with Grammy nominated R&B singer and songwriter, Eric Benet, as he performed some of his greatest hits: "Femininity," "Georgy Porgy ft Faith Evans," "Spend My Life ft Tamia," "I Wanna Be Loved," "Love Don't Love Me," "Harriet Jones," "You're The Only One," "Real Love," "News For You," "Pretty Baby," and "Chocolate Legs."
To set the mood at the beginning of the show, Benet's music was instrumental at first. But, once Benet stepped on the stage, he captivated the audience with his good looks, singing, charm, and comedic gesture. Audience members were truly entertained from the musician.
Benet looks at peace and relaxed as he sings to his fans and explains to them the current transition in his life. His new wife is Manuela Testolini, Prince's ex-wife. They were married on July 31, 2011. And Benet is a father for the second time; he gave birth to a baby girl, Lucia Bella on December 21, 2011.
Benet payed homage to his fans during the concert when he says, "Ya'll make my dreams come true everyday, twenty years later. Yall' still here, I love it, I love it, Thank you, God bless you, I love you."
Lastly, Benet ended the concert with his upbeat tempo song, "Georgy Porgy," and the audience was ecstatic. The song, "Georgy Porgy," was a party song during the late 90's. And fans recaptured that moment as they sang the lyrics to the song.
"If ya'll know this song, ya'll need to sing the chorus with me, and I want all of the ladies to scream," said Benet.
Benet, born in Mobile, Alabama and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was introduced to music at a young age. Benet's father enjoyed classical music and his mother is a singer as well. However, outside of his parents, Benet's musical influences are Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Al Green, Sly Stone, Donny Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye. Once Benet's parents discovered his musical talent, he started performing at church's choir, musicals, and plays.
He believed he was destined to be a musician because he wanted to pursue music professionally. Benet was recognized in the early 80's when he joined Gerard. When he joined the group, Benet was fascinated and experimented with various genres of music: hip-hop, soul, funk, rock, and pop.
Now over 20 years later, Benet received four Grammy nominations, six NAACP nominations, a Black Reel award, released six albums, including his latest, "The One," on June 5th 2012 on his own record label Jordan Records. Benet also collaborated with Grammy award winning rapper, Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter on the song, "Redbone Girl."
Benet was elated about releasing his latest album independently because he is the primary owner of his records. The One album exemplifies new beginnings in his career and personal life. Fans are looking forward to Benet's upcoming projects but Benet wants the industry to know that he's not going anywhere no time soon.
