*The Valentine’s Day Special Verzuz was held at a sold-out Avalon in Hollywood, California, one day after Valentine’s Day, and that was not the only anomaly.
Once I got past the half-assed disrespectful not funny comedian whose name I don’t recall, and the threat of having to pay to view the Verzuz due to a paywall, and Instagram Live being uncooperative, to put it mildly, which had Missy Elliot seriously questioning her wi-fi, I settled in to see what Anthony Hamilton and Musiq Soulchild are working with these days.
Let’s get the fact that it was not a battle out of the way. They were friendly and very complimentary, almost like a bromance. It was all love.
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The crooner from North Carolina (Anthony), and the neo-soul specialist from Philly (Musiq) went back and forth, showcasing song after song, including Anthony Hamilton’s hits “Can’t Let Go,” “You Made a Fool of Me” and “Charlene” and Musiq Soulchild’s hits “Love,” “Teach Me” and “BUDDY.”
Anthony Hamilton was polished and cool, in mustard-colored pants only someone as suave as him could pull off. His performance made me want to go to an Anthony Hamilton concert, so I could hear the whole version of the songs he was singing. He didn’t miss a beat, and I enjoyed his song portions.
I have been a Musiq Soulchild fan since his first album, so he didn’t need to do anything special to get my attention. I was looking forward to hearing him sing my favorites and was a little disappointed that he let the audience sing for him…more than a couple of times.
Also, I’m sure everyone, including me, was waiting for him to hit the high note on “Love,” but I guess that is a thing of the past. He did a lot of ad-libbing and scatting, which although I personally liked, based on some of the comments, didn’t go over well with some of the viewing audience. The crowd was split on who won the “battle.” Anthony Hamilton fans remained in his camp, and Musiq Soulchild fans did the same.
The best highlight from the #VERZUZ thanks to Anthony Hamilton????????????????pic.twitter.com/ng5qMXrUCk
— Piñata Farms ???? (@pinatafarms) February 16, 2022
“Dontchange” @MusiqSoulchild #VERZUZ pic.twitter.com/1hN0DCgpF4
— TRILLER (@triller) February 16, 2022
The evening had a litany of guests. Anthony brought out Raheen Devaughn, Kevin Ross, Donnell Jones and Leela James. Not to be undone, Musiq brought out Meelah (from the group 702) and Lucky Daye, who sampled Musiq’s “Half Crazy.” At the end of the evening, all of the guests joined Anthony and Musiq onstage, and a crowded stage it was.
Personally, I think the Verzuz battles have become too commercial and have lost the magic it started with when Timbaland and Swizz Beatz launched them two years ago. After they sold it to Triller, things changed, and not all for the better. Now the battles are in front of a live audience, of course at a cost, and if you want to view it on Triller, it is also at a cost. What started off as free pandemic entertainment, seems to have paid off like the lottery for Swizz and Timbaland…for the fans, not so much, but I guess that depends on how you look at it, and who you ask.
Marilyn Smith is a Los Angeles-based writer/reviewer. Contact her via [email protected]
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