Sade’s first tour in a decade landed at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night. (Alex Urosevic, QMI Agency)

TORONTO - Note to ‘80s soul veteran Sade: Don’t wait another decade to tour okay?

The 52-year-old British-Nigerian singer touched down at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night as part of her first road trip in ten years, not that any rustiness really showed in her stylish, sophisticated two-hour show.

She dramatically climbed up some back-lit stairs onto her minimalist-looking stage dominated by slick lights and a huge video screen, and sang the opening song, Soldier of Love, the striking title track from her 2010 album of the same name.

Still with her long hair in a ponytail and those trademark huge hoop earrings, she didn’t look like she’d aged a day dressed in a form fitting black top and pants and she sounded great too in that smooth, soft, sensual, sexy way that was and remains her signature sound.

Her eight-piece band, nattily attired too, and perched on four dimly-lit platforms behind her that had also appeared out of the floor, were barely visible until the bassist, guitarist and saxophone player finally come forward about half-way through the first song.

“I know a lot of people stand up here and says Toronto, we love you, but we really do,” said Sade, in her deep speaking voice. “It’s so nice for us to be back here and share some good times with you.”

Other early highlights included Your Love Is King, Kiss Of Life - featuring a film of Sade rolling around in a green field with flowers looking incredibly beautiful - and Love Is Found, with dancers in black silhouette dramatically dancing on a white screen behind her.

“I’m feeling lucky tonight,” said Sade, smiling, before continuing with In Another Time while perched on a stool.

Then she exited for a quick costume change into a black vest, white shirt and black pants for crowd favourite Smooth Operator, which saw her drop to her knees in front of her guitarist out of respect, while a cityscape was shown on the video screen behind her, and sat at the age of her stage for the hushed brilliance of Jezebel.

More striking-looking production came via a three-sided translucent scrim on to which images of roads, train tracks, forests, fires, lakes, etc. were projected while Sade sang Bring Me Home and four red velvet curtains - which appeared to match the shade of her lipstick - dropped down for Is It A Crime? which got the crowd riled up as she sang: “My love is wide, wider than an Ontario lake.”

Her cover of Thin Lizzy’s Still In Love With You was pretty great too and she joined her two male backup singers in their lineup to sing All About Our Love, and later danced with them during Paradise.

She disappeared while her singers handled Nothing Can Come Between Us, and the scrim came down again for black and white images of trees and skies and Sade in a great-looking white dress which she herself was wearing a version of (with a pink fuschia bra underneath), in barefeet and with her ponytail finally undone, for the sweet-sounding ballads Morning Bird, King Of Sorrow, crowd favourite The Sweetest Taboo, The Moon and The Sky, the awe-inspiring Pearls - with some mighty big notes at the end - No Ordinary Love and By Your Side.

“The sweetest time has come back again, thank you so much,” said Sade, after she had danced with her two singers at the end of The Sweetest Taboo.

“I’m so glad tonight was a special night we really do love you,” she added before the encore of Cherish The Day and a final costume change into a red gown and atop a raised platform while the New York City skyline was shown on the scrim.

Opening was neo-soul singer-pianist John Legend backed by a ten-piece band that included a three-man horn section and three female back up singers.

His fast-paced 55-minute set, which saw him open with an abbreviated version of Adele’s Rolling In The Deep, offered up some big-sounding, uptempo numbers like the set closing Green Light in which he jumped up on top of his piano, but it was the quieter moments like This Time, Let’s Get Lifted, and Ordinary People, that latter with just him and his piano, that really stood out.

SET LIST:

Soldier Of Love

Your Love Is King

Skin

Kiss Of Life

Love Is Found

In Another Time

Smooth Operator

Jezebel

Bring Me Home

Is It A Crime?

Still In Love With You

All About Our Love

Paradise

Nothing Can Come Between Us

Morning Bird

King Of Sorrow

The Sweetest Taboo

The Moon And The Sky

Pearls

No Ordinary Love

By Your Side

ENCORE:

Cherish The Day