With five Grammy awards, a multi-platinum album and a massive marketing machine behind her, many wondered if Alicia Keys could live up to the hype.

If the exuberant applause from a near-capacity audience was anything to go by, she certainly did.

The gorgeous 22-year-old New Yorker gave an energetic 90-minute performance on the penultimate night of her UK tour.

The crowd roared as Keys emerged from the rear of the stage through a set of doors that were part of a backdrop inspired by a New York brownstone building.

Her form-hugging jeans, red satin shirt, blue satin jacket and blue sequinned beret were quite simple by her rather outlandish fashion standards.

From the word go, she mixed classical, blues and pop, as her back up singers sang "Alicia Keys, Alicia, Keys, Alicia Keys" in operatic style to a riff from Mtume's Juicy Fruit.

She immediately launched into the groovy Rock With You and got the crowd behind her.

As she broke into How Come You Don't Call Me (complete with telephone box), she made light of comments by UK critics that she talked too much. This is in stark contrast to her American performances where forming a rapport with the "sistahs" and joking about man troubles is the norm but it was just as well, because, strictly speaking, there weren't many "sistahs" in the audience.

It was no surprise that the classically trained pianist was at her best when she was alone onstage with her piano.

Set against a black backdrop, with moody lighting, Keys passionately delivered a passage that began with Moonlight Sonata and included ballads from her CD Songs In A Minor such as Goodbye, Never Felt This Way, Butterflyz and Caged Bird.

It is always difficult for an artist who has only produced one CD to rise to the challenge of giving a full-length performance and it was a testament to this young woman's talent that she and her seven-piece band were able to put together such an entertaining package.

An interesting element of her performance was the way the set was pulled together by soulful, jazzy breakdowns that saluted musical influences such as Earth, Wind And Fire, Santana, The Sound Of Philadelphia and Stevie Wonder.

Keys is no slouch in the dance department either, and often left the piano to move smoothly across the stage - stiletto boots not withstanding - to upbeat numbers like Girlfriend, Jane Doe and A Woman's Worth.

People of all ages sang along as Keys ended the show with Fallin', the song that launched her career just over a year ago.

It was a great end to an earnest, passionate performance we hope will not be her last in Brighton.

Review by Franka Philip. Email features@theargus.co.uk