I know there’s some love for Alicia Keys on this blog, but was it only me, or did she sound out of tune and a little out of sorts covering the late Brenda Fassie’s “Too Late for Mama” with the South African progressive rock band BLK JKS at the pre–World Cup concert two weeks ago?

Keys opened with “Empire State of Mind,” her and Jay-Z’s ode, swapping in the line, “Tonight we’re in Joburg / Concrete jungle where dreams are made . . . we’re here in Africa  . . . ”—a gesture that felt more obligatory than inspired.

I only caught the performance online after returning to the U.S., since both the South African Broadcasting Corporation and ABC, ESPN’s parent network with U.S. World Cup rights, apparently chose not to air the collaboration between Keys and BLK JKS, which, given what they conjured up, it is not so bad after all that we were barred from seeing it live.

The media’s reporting of the concert was generally positive, especially of Keys. Billboard’s reporter wrote that her collaboration with BLK JKS “really stole the hearts of the crowd.” Billboard also wrote this about Keys’ stage performance: ‘ . . .  Alicia Keys exhorted the crowd not to “forget to love each other,” and then plunged into “No One.” “Johannesburg it’s such a beautiful night today,” she said before introducing BLK JKS.’

If you can’t bear Keys’ version, there’s always the original by Brenda—complete with its wonderfully dated, gloriously cheesy video.

Separately, during Shakira’s performance of “Waka Waka,” Zolani Mahola, who has a verse on the song, could only be heard and not seen—another curious decision on a night meant to showcase African artists.