Photos by Andy Argyrakis

A decade passed since R&B singer/songwriter, actress and television personality Keyshia Cole went on the road, but she proved to be as popular as ever when the “Love Hard” Tour brought by the Black Promoters Collective filled up much of the Wintrust Arena, alongside featured guests Trey Songz, Jaheim and K. Michelle.

That’s because in addition to the headliner’s multi-platinum past, she’s a queen of reality TV and star of Lifetime’s 2023 biopic “Keyshia Cole: This Is My Story,” all while crafting an upcoming eighth studio album, contributing to “The Color Purple” soundtrack, plus collaborating with Nicki Minaj and Monica on the former’s colossal “The Pink Print 2.” 

All the constant motion found her seamlessly stepping back on stage to deliver such soulful smashes as “I Changed My Mind,” “Thought You Had My Back” and “Brand New,” carried by attention-commanding vocals, the extra bite of a live band and the periodic presence of dancers.

Equally traditional as she is contemporary, Cole continued wowing with “Heaven Sent,” “I Remember” and “Let It Go,” offering everything from reasons to get romantic to morsels of empowering wisdom learned along the way.

Songz is no stranger to commanding crowds of this size on his own either and ranked right up there as far as established chart-toppers go, oozing both smooth sophistication and sex appeal to the multitude of screaming women, bolstered by Chicago’s own special guest Twista.

“Can’t Help But Wait,” “Heart Attack,” “Slow Motion” and “Bottoms Up” were a few of several notables leading to sales of more than 25 million singles and got everyone loudly contributing to the choruses.

The velvety voiced Jaheim, also surrounded by dancers, had just as much luck as far as the ladies’ reaction was concerned and even the guys couldn’t resist getting in the groove throughout all the “Ghetto Classics” or a tribute to Luther Vandross.

As if those weren’t enough to keep it moving until midnight, the stacked bill got a bonus in the form of “Rebellious Soul” K. Michelle, who poured a multitude of emotions into a brief but beautiful country-flavored set to complete the equation of another winning BPC combination for the Wintrust.

For additional information on Keyshia Cole, Trey Songz, Jaheim and K. Michelle, visit Facebook.com/KeyshiaCole, TreySongz.com, Instagram.com/OfficialJaheim and Facebook.com/KMichelleMusic.

For a list of upcoming Black Promoters Collective concerts, visit BlackPromotersCollective.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Wintrust Arena include Ashanti, Monica, Tamar Braxton, SILK, Danny Boy and 702 (Mar. 16); Primus, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle (May 1) and Keith Sweat (Sept. 13). For additional details, visit WintrustArena.com.

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