YIP JANNINGS "Tribute To MJ"

by jenny heying

I’m not usually fond of tributes, but when I heard Yip Jannings was doing a LIVE tribute to Michael Jackson at the White Eagle, my curiosity got the better of me. I’m glad I went. Uncanny; as the opening number “I Want You Back” sounded almost exactly like Michael. I had to double check to make sure it wasn’t recorded. And it wasn’t. Yip’s voice cloned Michaels. With strong backing tracks, it was hard not to imagine you were listening to MJ. It carried on with “I’ll Be There” and part way through I could finally hear that it wasn’t the original but was in fact Yip singing.

It’s hard to do a tribute to someone like Michael, as his voice is quite unique. But Yip did him justice. She was nailing all the earlier songs like “Ben” and I was anxious to hear how she would handle the more recent songs.


Yip handled the tribute with grace. You could tell by the way she performed that she respected the songs and never over did them or added too much. She honored the legend by singing the songs as they were originally performed. But by the time she moved in to “Ain’t No Sunshine”, you could hear Yip’s influence. Her voice is slightly deeper and maybe a little more forceful but still amazingly similar. She followed with “Blame It On The Boogie” and the amazement continued.

Aside from the incredible lag which made it difficult to move and to take pictures, the performance was exceptional. Maybe it had something to do with having roughly 50 people in attendance. But nonetheless Yip Jannings continued and with “Ease On Down The Road” the place livened up somewhat.

Between songs, Yip Jannings introduced each song with the year it was released and a few anecdotes about where Michael was in his career. But she left most of the tribute to her singing. No matter what era or song, she handled every song capably, well more than capably.

A string of great renditions followed including “Off The Wall”, “Rock With You”, “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and “Can You Feel It” before she launched into “Thriller”. I was a little worried about how she would deal with the later songs but I should not have worried. Although not as much a replica as the earlier songs, she still sparkled by impersonating slightly the MJ most of us remember. She continued that with “Wanna Be Starting Something” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”.

It was an incredible evening listening to Yip cover Michael’s songs. She did it professionally and never let her talent interfere. She is talented and with her closing numbers “Black or White” and “One Day In Your Life” she left the crowd in awe of two amazing performers. Michael and Yip.

Wearing a gorgeous lavender beaded dress and violet highlights in her hair, she was a definite presence on the stage. She’s an attractive woman with a wonderful voice and someday I’ll have to see what she’s like doing other than MJ songs.

It was a fitting tribute to a legend by a marvelous performer. And the best part, it was LIVE!