I recently was in New York City for a couple weeks for an NYU Summer program, and we got the pleasure of seeing Alicia Keys live on her tour at the Barclays Center. I had an absolutely amazing time! Since there were 30 kids all getting the same tickets, NYU kindly got us the tickets in a special VIP box, and we all got to sit together. They gave us NYU merch as well!
Aside from the perks, the actual concert was fantastic. I think my jaw may have been dropped the entire time, as I'd never seen Alecia Keys in person, and oh my god is she gorgeous. I was probably talking about how perfect she is for the next 4 hours at least. On top of that, her vocals were INSANE. She held so much power in her voice when she sang, and I loved the mix of genres in her music - from soul to rap, pop, to R&B as well. It felt very special to hear "Empire State of Mind" while I was actually in New York, and I definitely was living my best life during that song.
Although the majority of the other students in my program opted out of singing, standing up, and dancing, my friend Seren and I were not shy and had a great time enjoying the music! In the end, even though I didn't know most of her songs, I loved exposing myself to them, and I loved the community that I felt in the arena.