Anyone who sings a song called “Superwoman” needs the extra game to back it up.

Alicia Keys has it and more. Thursday night she rolled into town — just ahead of the monstrous thunder, wind and light show — and whipped up a storm of her own inside the Sprint Center.

The place wasn’t sold out, but the crowd was big (around 10,000), loud and appreciative, although it endured a sound mix that was bad at its worst, tolerable at its best.Anyone who sings a song called “Superwoman” needs the extra game to back it up.

Alicia Keys has it and more. Thursday night she rolled into town — just ahead of the monstrous thunder, wind and light show — and whipped up a storm of her own inside the Sprint Center.

The place wasn’t sold out, but the crowd was big (around 10,000), loud and appreciative, although it endured a sound mix that was bad at its worst, tolerable at its best.

Keys is something rare these days: She sings, she writes songs, and she plays several instruments.

She has also learned that being a gifted musician doesn’t necessarily make someone a great entertainer, so she has developed and honed some skills that add polish and energy to her live shows.

She’s not a great dancer, but she can hang with the boys and girls around her. She also has figured out how to stoke the mood between songs, without talking too much. (And being as pretty as she is doesn’t hurt either.)

Keys’ performance followed a set by Ne-Yo that included “Do Yo” and “Because of You.” She opened with the intro to “As I Am,” launching a show that would evolve into an extravaganza.

She brought a big band/orchestra and a small army of backup singers and dancers. She moved back and forth between the piano and keyboards to high-energy dance routines with her young dancers.

She also brought a stage set loaded with video screens that broadcast the show to the fans sitting farthest from the stage. The sights were bright and flashy; the vocal mix, however, was thick and muddy in several spots around the arena.

The show lasted about 100 minutes and covered more than two dozen songs. There weren’t any big, raucous sing-along moments, but she ignited lots of cheers (and singing) for “My Boo” (one of her singer/dancers filled in for Usher), “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” and her closer, “If I Ain’t Got You.”

Before “Superwoman,” she advised the crowd: “You have to do what you love.” Clearly that’s what she was doing for nearly two hours on a stormy Thursday night in Kansas City.