TORONTO - You can't deny the fact Jamie Foxx is a showman through and through.
The Grammy-winning, Oscar-winning actor/comedian/singer is currently on a lengthy North American tour supporting his album Intuition. And Tuesday night at Toronto's Sound Academy, Foxx made the concert much more of a show.
That's not to say Foxx doesn't have the pipes to hold the crowd's attention. Heck, his single Blame It was number one on the Billboard charts for 14 weeks running, so he's doing something right.
But when you also precede your performance with a trailer for the action comedy Skank Robbers, where Foxx portrays his In Living Color character Wanda, he knows music isn't his only bread and butter.
Foxx even encouraged fans who didn't have Intuition to "download it, burn it or steal it," adding that he didn't need the money.
Regardless, the performer worked the crowd effortlessly, opening with Number One before quickly moving into other material such as the punchy I Don't Need It as Foxx - dressed in black and backed by a large band - asked the audience to party like it was the weekend.
He also made sure fans knew where he was at, often using "416" and "905" to pump the crowd up when not talking about his trip to Wasaga Beach.
Following the smooth dim-the-lights vibe oozing from Unpredictable, Foxx left the stage as a clip of the film Ray was shown. The artist then returned in Ray Charles character, tossing in I Got A Woman before ramping things up with a snippet of Kanye West's Gold Digger.
Yet for every high point such as the ensuing party-starting One Night Extravaganza there were times where the musical lulls sapped any momentum. This was especially the case during DJ Play A Love Song and Do What It Do that didn't really hit the mark.
What did hit the mark often were Foxx's quick quips, particularly when four ladies were brought up prior to Slow, each asked to do their best interpretive dance to the number. "What's up?" one lady asked Foxx when she sauntered onstage. "What's up? You've been watching BET," Foxx replied, causing much laughter.
And what seems to be a trend in recent shows, local rapper Drizzy Drake - reportedly still waiting surgery on his wonky knee -- made a brief surprise appearance to perform a snippet of Best I Ever Had as Foxx danced around him.
Following that cameo, and after a medley of Michael Jackson hits that saw Foxx do the dance moves from the Thriller video, the performer dished out I Don't Know Why and She Got Her Own, the kind of lady Foxx said could "cook, make love to me and check her e-mail" simultaneously.
The night's high point was of course Blame It, but even Foxx dampened the tail end of the tune by strapping on a guitar as confetti shot into the crowd.
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