24 hours after the Essence Fest crowd sat in anticipation of Janet Jackson’s appearance, a packed Superdome waited (and waited, and waited) patiently to see what Alicia Keys and her baby bump would look like in person. One week after a five-months-pregnant Keys shocked a national television audience by jumping on top of a piano during a Prince tribute at the BET awards, she took to Essence Fest with similar bravado.

That lasted all of 30 seconds as Keys took an awkward tumble during her opening “Love Is Blind” song. She stumbled backwards, then fell head over heels with her legs in the air. Though she bounced right back up, the crowd let out an audible gasp and the Superdome became full of concern for the rest of her set.

Keys, showing every bit of her pregnancy despite a loose top, powered through her set, launching into early hits “You Don’t Know My Name” and the more recent “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart.” The latter though, may have come too late, as the Essence crowd started to head out – the show was running over an hour late – looking to catch a few glimmers of after party strobe lights.

Earlier on in the night, Saturday looked like it was going to be a hip-hop-centered event. LL Cool J, with a set catered to the ladies, though the G-rated concert prevented him from taking off his shirt. He performed his never-ending repertoire of “soft” hip-hop, a smart move as the ladies in the crowd ate it up and fell silent for the grittier cuts like “4,3,2,1.”

Things were a little more raucous in the Super Lounge when De La Soul took the stage. It was one of the most energetic shows thus far all weekend as the lounge was full of old-school hip-hop fans wanting to jam out with the legendary group. It was a wild show, full of catfish-eating DJs, MCs jumping in the crowd and 20 girls being invited on stage to dance to “Baby Phat.”

Not to be outdone by the ’80s baby performers, Gladys Knight’s voice thundered through the dome with flawless intensity. In one of the most gripping moments of the night, Knight covered Boys II Men’s “End of the Road,” daring anyone to have a dry eye. In a night full of young entertainers, Miss Knight showed why she’s been an icon for decades.