Lovers & Friends 2023: See Photos From The Vegas Festival
Lovers & Friends Fest 2023 was nostalgia personified.
On the main stages, legendary acts from the ’90s and ’00s including Next, Da Brat, Omarion, Boyz II Men, Lil Kim, Jhené Aiko, Miguel, Nelly, Chris Brown, Usher, 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Missy Elliott delivered performances. The two smaller stages kept attendees quite occupied with stacked sets from Lil Mo, Bobby V, Wayne Wonder, Yung Joc, Chingy, Jagged Edge, Blackstreet, Eve, Shaggy, Ginuwine, Summer Walker, and countless others.
Throughout the one day affair, a lot of chaos ensued. Ginuwine took a tumble during his performance of “In Those Jeans.” Da Brat flaunted her baby bump in a custom Chicago Bulls jersey and was scolded by her wife for not staying hydrated. 50 Cent opted for smoke as the sole person to address the rumored backstage brawl between Usher and Chris Brown. “Great job putting this together Usher. Guess he don’t like getting punched in the face,” he said. “This would’ve been a perfect event until the R&B ni**as went crazy.”
Jhené Aiko’s sound cut off during her last song after her partner, Big Sean, praised her for showing up in the midst of breastfeeding their 6-month-old son, Noah. JoJo also had sound issues that led to fans missing out on the incredible mashups of “Think About You” with Carl Thomas’ “I Wish” and “Leave (Get Out)” with Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough.”
Despite the bad, there were some highlights from the festival that should be recognized like Usher previewing his residency, Missy Elliott pouring her heart and innovative vision into her closing set, and Lil Kim putting storytelling back into performance. See pics from the festival below.
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