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Robin Thicke loves up the Susquehanna Bank Center

When Robin Thicke hit the summer of 2013 with his sexy smash "Blurred Lines," the world turned on to the blue-eyed-soul-boy shtick he'd been working since the early 2000s. As songwriter for R&B queens (Mya, Brandy) and as a burgeoning solo artist, Alan Thicke's kid has proved he has the goods. His songs have an aching sensuality, and his voice is commanding yet subtle, topped with a creamy falsetto. The buying public just needed to catch up.

Robin Thicke, right, performing in Los Angeles in December. At the Susquehanna Bank Center on Thursday, his hits were funky and furious; the ballads defined where he is.
Robin Thicke, right, performing in Los Angeles in December. At the Susquehanna Bank Center on Thursday, his hits were funky and furious; the ballads defined where he is.Read more

When Robin Thicke hit the summer of 2013 with his sexy smash "Blurred Lines," the world turned on to the blue-eyed-soul-boy shtick he'd been working since the early 2000s. As songwriter for R&B queens (Mya, Brandy) and as a burgeoning solo artist, Alan Thicke's kid has proved he has the goods. His songs have an aching sensuality, and his voice is commanding yet subtle, topped with a creamy falsetto. The buying public just needed to catch up.

Which brings us to "Blurred," his lover-man persona (which evidently hasn't pleased his wife, Paula Patton, lately), and Thursday's sold-out gig at Camden's Susquehanna Bank Center.

With Black Daddy, a horn-driven, all-African American band, behind him, Thicke didn't start slow. He started in with the classic yet contemporary-cosmopolitan R&B vibe of which he is a master. His first three tunes were hard and fast, with "Give It 2 U," the teasing "Magic," and "Take It Easy on Me." The last, filled with flitting vocal highs and topped with a false ending, with James Brown-like countdown, was Thicke personified, fascinated by his lady's stare, then ripping off her underwear.

The proceedings slowed to a slink with "Oh Shooter," a psychedelic-soul organ-driven jam, and the lithe "Dreamworld," in which Thicke hopped behind the piano, settled into a twinkly, bluesy cocktail-lounge feel, and sang of role-changing. Then he segued into "When I Get You Alone" and its "A Fifth of Beethoven" sample.

Although his hits were funky and furious, the ballads defined where Thicke is, considering his troubled marriage. Before entering the swaying samba of "Lost Without U" and its appreciation of the female form ("Baby, you're the perfect shape/ Baby, you're the perfect weight"), he spoke to couples in the audience, telling them that if they'd found their soul mate, never give them up - with a catch in his voice. Sincere? All an act? Either way, he was good.

Opener K. Michelle - the star of Love & Hip Hop as well as an as-yet-untitled new VH1 show - started the night boldly with her brand of frank-talking, big-voiced, stormy-weather soul and tracks like the socially conscious "The Life."