Thursday night was Ladies Night as the two R&B Queens took their place on their thrones to battle it out. Although the Ashanti and Keyshia Cole battle was scheduled originally for a mid-December date, Verzuz rescheduled it to take place at the top of the year. It was pushed back again to January 21. Ashanti announced she had tested positive for COVID-19 in December.  

What’s a Queen if she isn’t fashionably late? Keyshia Cole was tardy due to technical issues (blurry screen and not hearing Ashanti on the other end). Ashanti assured fans, “My sis is on the way. I’m a hold it down for my girl,” she said as her DJ gave us a sneak peek of her new single. Uniquely, the last few Verzuz battles have taken place with both artists physically in the same room on Instagram live. This particular one brought in streaming views at a solid 1.1 million, with the two artists in different spaces. Ashanti kicked off the friendly competition as the winner of Round 1 with the song, “Happy.”

“You already know how it is in these streets, being cheated to and lied to…” Keisha said, opening up Round 2. Fans already knew what song she would sing with “I Should Have Cheated.” The comments went crazy, knowing what music the DJ was going to spin.

The Verzuz went 20 rounds, and in the final set, Ashanti concluded with “Always on Time.” One of her biggest hits she sang with rapper Ja Rule back in 2001. Keisha used her time to play one of her new records, “I Don’t Want to Be In Love With You.” However, fans left comments where they thought Keyshia closed out with the wrong song and at the wrong time. 

Both artists pressed the fact that even though it was a Verzuz Battle, that it is also a celebration of their life’s hard work and accomplishments, with new projects to be released.

Photo Credit: Ashanti, Keyshia Cole (Getty Images)