Jeremih has the songs, he just needs to work on his showmanship.
On record, Jeremih's smooth, sexed-up take on R&B sits somewhere between R Kelly, Banks and The Dream, his voice mixing with electronic bass tricks that feel so current it hurts.
But live, a different source of inspiration appears for the rising Chicago R&B champ: the '90s.
Backed by an eye-catching,
booty-shaking dance troupe and a band featuring a DJ, drummer and keyboardist, Jeremih's Powerstation performance last night felt like a trip back to a time when Warren G and Montell Jordan ruled the R&B/hip-hop crossover charts.
Yes, the 28-year-old's second New Zealand appearance comes after last year's excellent Late Nights, his third and best album that's so full of sultry R&B jams the Powerstation was rammed with fans screaming every word back at him.
Highlights included Don't Tell Em, a dance-pop song Justin Bieber would be proud to have in his catalogue, Pass Dat, which had the entire band performing co-ordinated dance moves across the stage, Planez, his downtempo ode to joining the mile-high club, and Impatient, his falsetto soaring over the track's finger clicks.
