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Janelle Monae: "Tightrope" (Live On So You Think You Can Dance) (Video)

8:22 a.m. · August 9, 2010 · by Nick Neyland

That performance of “Tightrope” on David Letterman’s show earlier in the year worked wonders for Janelle Monae as she began promoting The ArchAndroid, and she turned up on So You Think You Can Dance this past weekend to repeat the trick. There’s a bigger stage for Monae and her dapper dancers this time, which gives them ample space to deliver one of the tightest performances you’ll see on national TV all year.

It’s going to be a strange 2010 for the singer, who is clearly courting the mainstream with appearances on these ultra-bland TV shows, but she is also keeping her feet on the ground by touring with Of Montreal. It’s not hard to see why Monae keeps getting compared to James Brown—she has a commanding presence on stage and a well-marshaled band, but there’s an un-Brown like softness to her that will only continue to endear her to a wider audience.

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