Couture’s opening act, finally revealed in full

New York--Following a slow unscrambling on social media, Couture officially announced Wednesday that soul singer Janelle Monáe will be the entertainment for this year’s opening night event, scheduled for May 29 at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, the 28-year-old Monáe moved to New York City at a young age to begin performing, later relocating to Atlanta.

Her debut studio album, The ArchAndroid, came out in 2010, and she followed up with her sophomore effort The Electric Lady last year, an album that has garnered much critical acclaim. In a review published in September 2013, Rolling Stone described the record as weaving together “hiphop soul, Seventies funk, gospel, jazz and rock.”

Monáe has been nominated for, and won, numerous awards throughout her career. She took home Billboard’s Women in Music “Rising Star Award” in 2013 and is a six-time Grammy nominee. In addition, the soul singer voices a character and has a song, “What is Love” featured on the soundtrack of the animated movie Rio 2, which is scheduled to be released in the U.S. in April.

“I’ve been a fan of Janelle’s work for quite some time and am thrilled to have her perform at Couture,” Show Director Gannon Brosseau said. “From her wardrobe to her choreography and, of course, her incredible voice, Janelle is a true performer. I couldn’t think of a better fit for our opening night event.”

The announcement of Monáe as the show’s opening act became apparent on social media Wednesday following several days of suspense. Couture started the week by posting a pixilated photo of the singer on its Facebook page and its Instagram account, @By_Couture, then made the picture a bit clearer each day before finally unveiling a video of Monáe. 

The Couture show is scheduled to take place May 29 to June 2 at the Wynn Las Vegas. The opening night event is private and by invitation only.

National Jeweler and Couture, along with the JA New York shows, are owned by Emerald Expositions, a leading owner and operator of business-to-business tradeshows and related publications in the U.S.