When an event is advertised featuring “Sonique + Baby D + Rozalla,” it’s natural to expect a joint headliner showcase with equal set slots. However, this wasn’t the case. Instead, it was predominantly Sonique’s show, with Baby D and Rozalla as special guests. Sonique, also known as Sonia Marina Clark, showcased her solo career material.
Before the set began, the Royal Festival Hall was filled with background music from nineties dance, club, and house hits, evoking a lively atmosphere that had the seated audience dancing as if they had been transported back in time via the DeLorean time machine to an era preceding the Criminal Justice Act.
As Clark took the stage, she was accompanied by a band consisting of a string quartet, two backing singers, a guitarist, a bassist, and a drummer. Despite the passage of time, Sonique appeared ageless, exuding the same youthful energy she had when she released her first number-one single, “It Feels So Good,” back in 2000. Demonstrating her ability to hit high notes with passion and grace, Sonique captivated the audience with her performance, seamlessly transitioning between dance-themed numbers and slower R’n’B tunes, showcasing the full spectrum of her vocal talents.
Midway through the performance, a sizeable choir joined the stage, signalling a shift in tempo as they launched into a recognizable nineties dance tune, eliciting cheers from the crowd. The excitement reached a fever pitch when Rozalla took the stage to perform her 1991 hit “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good).” Like Sonique, Rozalla appeared age-defying, effortlessly channelling the energy of her early nineties self without missing a beat.
Following Rozalla’s electrifying performance, Sonique returned to the stage, showcasing more of her solo material with a wardrobe change to match. Baby D then graced the stage, treating the audience to an extended version of her 1994 number-one hit “Let Me Be Your Fantasy.” Sonique closed out the night with her biggest hits, including “Sky” and “It Feels So Good,” before being joined by Rozalla and Baby D for a memorable rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”
While Baby D and Rozalla each performed only one song, leaving the audience wanting more, Sonique demonstrated her versatility by covering a heartfelt rendition of the folk song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” along with her material that deviated from the dance template. Although each Sonique song received a standing ovation, some audience members struggled to connect fully with the non-dance material, ultimately succumbing to the nostalgia that permeated the Royal Festival Hall that evening.
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