We are all coming to grips with how this pandemic has changed our lives. The entertainment industry has been hit especially hard. Many artists earn a significant portion of their income by touring, and the pandemic has made that pretty much impossible.
More artists are now turning to streaming shows to maintain that connection with their fans. Legendary singer/songwriter Chaka Khan recently launched her own streaming platform, Chaka Khan TV. Her first show on the platform (entitled 2020 Vision) was released Thanksgiving night and included her daughter, Indira Khan as the opening act. The show lasted a little over an hour with Indira and her band performing in the studio. Chaka and her band performed most of their set from her home (and then from the studio for the final three songs).
I had never seen Indira Khan perform before; although I know she has been in the business for a while. She was a founding member of the group Pretty In Pink, which was signed to Motown in the early 1990s. In fact, Indira wrote most of the songs for the group. Indira and her band performed two songs: Someone To Love and Love Ship. I enjoyed both songs…Someone To Love is a mid-tempo ballad and Indira, her background singers and the band delivered a solid performance. You can check out Someone To Love on iTunes and Spotify (Indira goes by the name I-Khan). Love Ship is a nice, funky tune with Indira letting the drummer and bass player flex a little at the beginning while she and her background singers showed off their dance moves. I liked the vocals and the lyrics to this song as well.
Indira Khan Set List
1. Someone To Love
2. Love Ship
Indira Khan Band
Indira Khan, lead vocals
Background Vocals: Dominique Howard, Lauren Kinermon, Anise White-Goff
Tyler McCrary – Keyboards
Kevin T. Tyler – Bass
Lemuel Clark – Drums
Ricky Rouse – Guitar
Tracey Carter – Keyboards
Chaka then introduced her set. As she would do several times during the performance, Chaka dropped some inside info about several of the songs her and the band would perform in the set. The first song of the set was What Am I Missing? Chaka indicated that she and her brother (Mark Stevens) wrote this song after a night of partying. Once they returned to their mother’s house, Mark took out his bass and started playing while Chaka came up with the lyrics. She considers it a song that is very relevant today as many people are revealing their true selves.
Chaka’s second song was the funky, bass heavy Somethin’ Deep, followed by one of her classic ballads One For All Time from the 2007 Funk This LP. Next Chaka tee’d up her smash hit Clouds by letting us know that Luther Vandross AND Whitney Houston (RIP to these legends) actually sang background on it and were only paid $60!
Chaka and the band slowed it down with the classic Through The Fire from the I Feel For You album. I like that they added a slight reggae vibe to the next song, the iconic Sweet Thing, which is probably the most popular Rufus and Chaka song of all time. Chaka followed up with My Funny Valentine, a classic written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart back in 1937. Chaka’s amazing version of this song was on the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack and was produced by Babyface.
Next Chaka and the band performed one of my absolute favorite songs, Some Love from Chaka’s debut solo album Chaka. The bassline is legendary, and Chaka told us she wrote this along with her brother Mark (who created that amazing bass line and wrote the chorus).
Chaka then introduced the final part of the show where she and her band performed from the studio, where an impressive light and effects show complemented the music. She performed the songs she believes most fans expect to hear when they attend her show… Ain’t Nobody, Through The Fire (a repeat selection from her home set) and Chaka ended the performance with her anthem of female empowerment, I’m Every Woman.
I thoroughly enjoyed this streaming show, and felt it was well worth the $12.95 admission! Chaka still sounds (and looks) great! Her band and background singers are top-notch as well and you can tell they have a great time performing together. As a huge Chaka fan that has seen her perform live several times, I was happy to see her perform some of her favorite “B-side” songs, i.e. songs that were not released as singles and didn’t get considerable airplay. Chaka indicated she plans to deliver additional shows on her streaming platform in the near future, which is great news for the millions of Chaka Khan fans worldwide!
