Telephone Man only sounded slighter in contrast. The vocal group started as bubblegum R&B, and songs such as Candy Girl and Mr. Second Edition: New Edition closed Essence, but it did so more as Uncle Charlie's afterparty than as a true headliner. He demonstrated classic soul chops with Turn Off the Lights and You Are, the latter pulling together love and spirituality as he sees the woman who completes him as a gift from above. His most theatrical effect was the Lucite piano filled with synchronized lights that he used to perform the spiritual If I Believe. Otherwise, Wilson earned his applause with costume changes, showmanship and dancing that was more about enthusiasm than art. The rear projection screen only contributed to the show when it added fireworks to You Dropped a Bomb on Me. 'Uncle Charlie,' as he refers to himself, works for his audience. It's a narrative that earned deafening applause when he sang it, but it wouldn't mean as much if he wasn't as compelling as he has become. Wilson enjoyed enormous success with the Gap Band, became an alcoholic and drug addict, ended up homeless, then sobered up -18 years, he sang - with the help of the Lord. 'I went from rags to riches and riches to rags,' he sang in a gospel passage that laid out the story that many in the Dome knew by heart. His post-Gap Band career has become so compelling that he could dispense with You Dropped a Bomb on Me midway through the set. It was corny old showbiz, and the full-to-the-rafters crowd ate it up, along with everything else Wilson did. He dropped a bomb: Charlie Wilson sang for funk band the Gap Band, and he opened his Saturday night set with Party Train, dancing onto the stage in a black sequined suit in the middle of a train of girls. Last night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, that was abundantly clear as Charlie Wilson, Trey Songz and New Edition topped the bill, each representing the festival's core musical values. NEW ORLEANS - Essence Music Festival stands behind R&B's traditional concerns: sin, salvation and Saturday night.

View Gallery: Performances are the essence of Essence Fest

Trey songz love faces choreography