The Triumph Awards: Excellence & Emotion

The Point:

The Triumph Awards celebrate people who have made a positive impact on our society.

The Host:

Tichina Arnold

The Honorees:

Tyrese, Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, Wanda Sykes, Rosalind Hudnell, and John Legend

The Performers:

Tasha Cobbs – HALLELU!!! She opened the show, singing that she was “…gonna put a praise on it.” YES, MA’AM! Then she got to breaking every chain.

Tyrese – Yes! He crooned Shame, usingthat raspy, sexy voice of his after receiving his award. He looked like a cool-ass Klondike bar in his white and black.

Chante Moore & Stokley (of Mint Condition) – Eh. They sang Someday We’ll All Be Free by Donny Hathaway. I wanted them to be great, but the chemistry was off and their vocals weren’t the greatest.

Estelle – Um. So. Yeah. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt. These artists are human, and they aren’t always “on.” So this was a time when Estelle was like,   She wasn’t engaging, and she was pitchy at times. I’ve concluded that she might have had a bad headache or stomach cramps.

Ledisi – SANG, girl! I don’t believe I’ve seen a bad live performance from her yet.

T.I. – Alright now! He performed a spoken word piece about how we as a society often stop at social media when it comes to taking a stand. For many, it’s more about hashtags, likes, and making the victims a trending topic than it is about demanding change.

Jazmine Sullivan – I love her raspy voice and her effortless runs. (Sometimes she runs all over the damn place, but I’d probably do the same if my voice was like hers.)

John Legend – Well, he’s John Legend. He played the piano and sang like… John Legend.

The Highlights:

• Tichina’s jumpsuit looked a bit uncomfortable ’round ’bout a certain area. I wanted her intro to end quickly so she could go change.

• The skit with Carl Anthony Payne II was cute-ish. He came onstage, because: “Cole,” and professed his undying love for Beady-Bead. I could’ve done without him lip-synching to Lenny Williams, though.

• Donnie Simpson is still handsome. Damn!

• The kids dancing at the end gave me life.

Overall, it was a good show. It’s the inaugural year for this broadcast, so I hope it only gets better!

My Takeaway:

*clears throat and sings* The world won’t get no better if we just let it be. #wakeup