Last night, the House of Blues traded its usual bluegrass and jazz fare for something a bit more synthetic. Wearing shiny plastic pants and using dubbed background singers, Tatyana M. Ali '02 presented a hip-hop alternative to the House's traditional Delta blues for a crowd of over 200 fans.

Boston radio station WJMN-FM, 94.5, had promoted Ali's performance for more than a month before last night's show. Tickets were distributed to radio station callers during the weeks before the event.

"According to the radio station, the response to Tatyana's performance was amazing," said Patricia Bok, vice-president of MJJ records, Ali's record label. MJJ is a subsidiary of Sony Music, owned by pop star Michael Jackson.

"All 260 people that were given tickets picked them up from the station, and that is usually unheard of," Bok said.

The audience that received the complimentary tickets ranged in age from toddlers accompanying parents to middle-aged men and women. Also attending the performance were Ali's mother and Boston Celtics player Walter McCarty.

Though the event was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., Ali began her performance after 7:15 p.m. But before Ali sang, Compound Entertainment took the stage.

Compound Entertainment is a 6-member performance group whose routine included dancing, lip-synching and rapping.

Immediately after Compound Entertainment's performance, Ali took the stage with microphone in hand to begin her three-song set, which included her hits "Daydreamin" and "Boy You Knock Me Out."

Before performing "Daydreamin," Ali spoke to her audience to enthuse and motivate them for the next number.

"Did you feel that song? I want you all to put your hands in the air!" she said as she took off her jacket and was joined by four dancers to perform with her on stage.

During "Daydreamin," Ali and the performers danced during the musical interlude when Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz rap in the song's radio version.

Before her last song, Ali again addressed her audience as she bent down to reach out to touch her fans' outstretched hands.

During Ali's closing number, "Boy You Knock Me Out," her microphone disconnected, but the audience gladly chimed in for the last 20 seconds of the song.

Ali closed the show first by thanking her audience for coming, then giving a "shout-out" to her Weld Hall roommates, and then by thanking her mother. Immediately after the 15-minute performance, Ali spent the next hour autographing CDs, posters and tickets.

Audience members said they enjoyed Ali's performance, especially appreciating her "sweetness" and "down-to-earth" personality.