Beyonce [ tickets ] Knowles proclaimed herself the queen of the Verizon Ladies First tour, riding to the stage atop an Egyptian-style bed carried by a troupe of muscled men Thursday (4/15) at Phoenix's America West Arena.

As she traveled from the sound board through the crowd, she tossed rose petals to her adoring fans.

However, this night belonged to Knowles' tourmate Alicia Keys [ tickets ]. Watching pianist-singer Keys was getting a glimpse of a superstar in the making. Clad in a red bustier and black pants, Keys owned the stage, seductively running her hands up and down the mic stand as she crooned. Her stage movements echoed the sentimentality of her music.

Keys' powerful voice resonated throughout the nearly filled arena. Though fans remained in their seats for most of the show, she earned several standing ovations.

The multi-talented Keys joined her dancers on several numbers, including "Rock Wit You" and "Karma," during which they acknowledged OutKast's hit "Hey Ya" by singing that song's lyric "shake it like a Polaroid picture." Keys and her troupe were definitely shakin' it.

Sitting at her grand piano, she teased the audience when introducing "A Woman's Worth," from her latest album "The Diary of Alicia Keys [ tickets ]." "How many real men are in the audience tonight?" she asked the primarily female crowd. "I have one more question. How many real women are in the building?"

Keys ended her set with a powerful rendition of the heart-wrenching ballad "You Don't Know My Name," even vocally playing the part of her waitress character in the video which features fellow musician Mos Def.

While Keys bonded with the audience through the force of her personality, Knowles relied on Mariah Carey-like vocal gymnastics, multiple costume changes and gimmicks to draw the crowd into her performance. From the beginning, Knowles came across as detached and overly rehearsed, much like Britney Spears; almost as if there was a wall between her and the crowd.

There's no denying, however, Knowles is one of the best R&B singers around. The camera-friendly singer/actress served up a medley of Destiny's Child hits, but the show primarily focused on her solo album "Dangerously in Love."

When she jumped onto the sparse stage, she joined bodysuit-clad dancers, reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil, to sing "Baby Boy," her hit with Sean Paul. The curtains soon arose to reveal the band and stage set. A large horizontal video screen provided an eye-candy backdrop, with silhouetted figures dancing to the music.

During costume changes, she resorted to the tired tradition of a DJ spinning current hits--"Yeah" by Usher, etc.--to rev up the audience.

She wrapped up the four-hour show tightly, though, with a party-worthy version of "Crazy in Love." The video screens aired the music video to provide Jay-Z's parts.

Rapper Elliott was popular with the audience, but she seemed an awkward fit on a bill that highlighted the smooth sounds of Keys and Knowles and opening act Tamia. Elliott's quirky performance--for which she was joined by as many as 14 dancers--featured retooled versions of her hits "Work It" and "Get Ur Freak On." Her DJ sat atop a giant aquarium prop, which at times housed the dancers.

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