Fridae

What a great night it was last night at Atlanta's Tabernacle. Not only did I meet Pharrell Williams (who is one of my idols), but I also got treated to hot performances by ArjanWrites faves Chester French and Janelle Monae.

In between shows, I spent most of my time backstage together with my pal Don Lemon of CNN. He brought in a camera crew to interview Pharrell, Chester French and Janelle Monae (pictured above) about the upcoming presidential elections and the youth vote. All were very vocal about their support of Barack Obama. Most notably Pharrell who not only reminded people to register to vote but also had the crowd chanting "Obama" at this end of his gig.

Chester French opened the show around 8 p.m. to warm up the crowd.  Frontman D.A. Wallach injected the show with just the right amount of cockiness and confidence to win over the audience that was largely unfamiliar with the group. D.A. and Max caught fire in no time with "Jimmy Choos." I was truly impressed by their show. D.A. is a compelling showman in the making who takes cues from Pharrell's jumpy stage show, he confided. The singer also told me that the duo's debut disc will be released in February. A digital EP will be available at the end of year. Stop all that teasing and get that disc pronto, please!

Janelle Monae followed with another great set. This was the fourth time I've seen her play live and this emerging music phenom never ceases to amaze. She's such a gem. Strutting and parading down the stage, belting out fine tunes like "Many Moons," "Smile" and "Lettin' Go."

I caught up with Monae backstage before the show, and finally got to meet the rest of her band and other members of the Wondaland Arts Society. The singer was excited to share with me that she received a call from Prince on Tuesday night to congratulate her with her recent L.A. show he attended. A possible collaboration between Prince and Monae might also be in the stars she confided. It will be the hotness I'm sure.