Best known for her hit Caught Out There, in which she bawls out an unfaithful boyfriend with the refrain, "I hate you right now," 20-year-old Harlem singer Kelis is putting female rage back on the agenda. Recorded with Virginia Beach production team the Neptunes, her debut album Kaleidoscope is a skilful mix dubbed "cyberpunk R&B". At her first UK show, Kelis does not disappoint. She strides on through dry ice in 70s-style thrift-store gear and lurid sunglasses, with her errant Afro dyed vanilla and blue. Though ably supported by a predominantly female band, including three backing singers with attitude, and a very cool bassist, Kelis gets off to a creaky start.
She is a graduate of New York's High School for the Performing Arts, and there is a touch of Kids from Fame about her stage show, with the glitter, space-age glam, rapping, and very shouty vocals. Subtler songs from the album, like the soothing teen talk ballad Get Along With You and the "conscious" Ghetto Children are partly swallowed up in the noisy mix. She does a version of Lionel Ritchie's Hello that's beautifully sung with a mahogany jazz inflection. Shame the song is such schmaltzy dog-doo.
Things get better, though, particularly when Kelis leaves the stage and reappears in black leather pants and silver halterneck. Now she means business. All the girls join her for a startlingly rich rendition of Born to Be Wild, performed with minimal percussion and bass. There's also the sinuous, bass-heavy Good Stuff, and Caught Out There, which inevitably turns into a shout-fest with the eager audience.
The most powerful moment is reserved for the encore, when Kelis launches into Smells Like Teen Spirit with guitars blazing. Despite the funky R&B, she seems most comfortable as a rock chick, a hybrid of Courtney Love and Tina Turner. "Here we are now! Entertain us!" she belts out with conviction, as if she has been rocking out all her life. Kelis exudes a raw power: it may need finessing, but she has plenty of time for that.
• Kelis plays at the Glastonbury Festival tomorrow.
