As the age-old saying goes, home is where the heart is. For Felicia Temple, that’s a triple entendre. Back in April, the “Bomb Love” singer returned to a sonic trail paved a generation prior.
For well over a decade, the former reality competition show star carefully curated a contemporary R&B foundation, starting with 2013’s To Whom It May Concern. Fast-forward to Temple’s latest project, Welcome Home, and the songwriter decided to fully embrace her family’s lengthy legacy in house music. On August 2, Temple took to Debonair Music Hall’s stage in Teaneck, New Jersey, to cement this electronic dance music era with a hometown performance of which her father, Diamond Temple, and uncle Rob Da’ Noize Temple would be proud.
Time and time again, Temple has showcased her vocal capabilities. So, there’s no questioning the silky-smooth sensation that is her voice. But, her true range as a musician tends to be overlooked. Across her discography, Temple has worn many hats, from producer and arranger to writer. On Welcome Home, listeners were forced to take notice.
During her Welcome Home show, Temple, along with her band (comprised of pianist Anthony Miller, bassist Al “Boogie” Carty, drummer Jermaine Parrish, and guitarist Vin Landolfi), demonstrated that all recorded music’s mechanics are equally important.
Instead of jumping straight into the uptempo tracks, Temple opened with a familiar tune, 2019’s “If That’s What You Want.” To test the crowd’s readiness, she transitioned to 2024’s “Party.” Then, the full-throttle Temple House experience launched with covers of Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee),” Robin S’ “Show Me Love,” and Aly-Us’ “Follow Me.” As Temple’s Welcome Home tracks “Where You Belong” and “What You Do To Me” were cued up, it became abundantly clear that Temple’s original works could confidently stand among the genre’s classics. Attendees’ unapologetic foot stomping, hand clapping, and dancing around their tables highlighted that Felicia inherited the Temple family’s musical gene—an ear for innovation.
Between set shifts, Temple acknowledged that with a touching speech dedicated to her earliest professional inspiration, her family. “I don’t get a lot of chances to talk about why I named this project, ‘Welcome Home,’” she said. “I grew up in a sanging family, and my daddy would take me everywhere. His sound and my uncle, god bless my Uncle Rob, their sound was something you didn’t hear in House.”
Temple then addressed how her upbringing shaped her artistic core, which shows up in the project. “The first song I ever put out was a remix of one of my dad’s songs, so this project was a thank you to them. It was a coming back to my roots. So I named it ‘Welcome Home,’ and now it feels really good to be back at home sharing these songs with you all.”
The Welcome Home concert is about cherishing all that Felicia Temple has done up to this point in her career. For her, this show was subconsciously centered around honoring all the musicians (band included), producers, engineers, and other collaborators that pour into the Felicia Temple we now know and adore. In this element, Felicia Temple feels right at home. So, when she announced that her next project would be “traditional R&B,” you can’t help but question what her rush to leave the nest is. Sadly, the audience is just that–bystanders. Our role is to consume what is placed in front of us. If that means bidding farewell to EDM Felicia Temple, no matter how painful it is, we must. Still, Welcome Home is a Felicia Temple-era we will secretly yearn for.
Overall, Felicia Temple’s Welcome Home show was a nod to New Jersey’s rich House music legacy, including her father, Diamond Temple, and uncle, Rob Da’ Noize Temple. But most importantly, the performance showed that musicianship encompasses far more than sultry vocals.
Do you want more of Felicia Temple? Connect with her on your favorite social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Felicia Temple’s latest project, Welcome Home, is available for purchase here or streaming on your favorite music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal.
Setlist:
- “If That’s What You Want”
- “Party”
- “Let’s Groove” (Earth, Wind & Fire cover)
- “Where You Belong”
- “Birds Of A Feather” (Billie Eilish cover)
- “What You Do To Me”
- “Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee)” (Crystal Waters cover)
- “Show Me Love” (Robin S cover)
- “Follow Me” (Aly-Us cover)
- “Touch”
- “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (Fugees cover)
- “Hope She Was Worth It”
- “How You Do That”
- “It’s Love” (Jill Scott cover)
- “Care”
- “Carpe Diem”
- “Stay”
- “Stay” (Jodeci cover medley)
- “Soon as I Get Home” (Faith Evans cover medley)
