Brian McKnight @ Celebrity Theatre

For me, Brian McKnight will forever live in a clip from the original 90210, performing for ill-fated couple Donna and Noah in a restaurant somewhere in Los Angeles. Even though I may not need to hear anything from McKnight ever again, after his early 2000s urban adult contemporary heyday slowed...

By Dan Gibson

May 12, 2011

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For me, Brian McKnight will forever live in a clip from the original 90210, performing for ill-fated couple Donna and Noah in a restaurant somewhere in Los Angeles. Even though I may not need to hear anything from McKnight ever again, after his early 2000s urban adult contemporary heyday slowed down, the guy still had to work. So while he was putting out albums every two years, McKnight took advantage of his Wayne Brady-esque handsomeness and inoffensive charm to expand his stake in the media world, first with a morning-radio talk show, and then as the host of a very strange and not terribly entertaining syndicated TV show, which lasted only one year. It all seemed a distraction for a guy who is an enjoyable enough soft-rock singer with a touch of soul, but mainstream adult contemporary is a weird place that remains attached to one or two songs from his past and largely unwilling to spin his new material. If you see him in concert, you'll probably hear a few songs that you think could have been hits. Meanwhile, McKnight will continue to plug away, singing "Back at One" for the millionth time and starring in an infomercial or something. —

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