Kehlani performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Sept. 30, 2022. Onome Uyovbievbo/STAFF.

OAKLAND —  The East Bay’s own Kehlani made quite a splash in a triumphant return to the Bay Area during their stop at Oakland Arena on Friday evening.

In their penultimate North American show on the Blue Water Roadtrip Tour (Hawaii closes it out later this month) before heading to Europe, Kehlani focused on material from her latest album, April’s Blue Water Road, as well as 2020’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t.

In their first Bay Area appearance since Outside Lands in October 2021, Kehlani delivered a lively and entertaining performance.

After a short video snippet of the artist with their daughter, Adeya, born in 2019, a blue, watery light filled the stage as a quartet of dancers dressed in while executed modern dance movements to an orchestral instrumental intro. Kehlani entered through white gossamer curtains, posing confidently in a form-fitting bright orange ensemble.

Kehlani performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Sept. 30, 2022.

Flanked by the dancers, Kehlani proceeded to show off their dancing skills in addition to the flawless singing.

Kicking off with “Little Story” from Blue Water Road, their dance steps mirrored the albums water concept.  The singing was as crisp and clear live as on record, showcasing Kehlani’s voice control and dexterity.

The dancers left the stage, leaving Kehlani alone for “Shooter Intro,” also from Blue Water Road.

“I’m home!” Kehlani yelled. “I don’t wanna cry this early, but I think it’s going to happen.”

Kehlani continued to show gratitude throughout the night, and the set included songs from their earlier albums and mixtapes, such as 2017’s SweetSexySavage and 2019’s While We Wait.

Kehlani performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Sept. 30, 2022.

Immediately following this, the singer brought out opener Destin Conrad, introducing him as “my baby” to perform “Passionate” from It Was Good Until It Wasn’t and “Love Language.”

Switching gears to the seductive “Can I” from the same album, the artist coming down from the stage, crooning to the excited fans at the front.

The energy onstage was brought back up when Kehlani summoned San Francisco rapper, Larry June, who spit some bars to a hyped-up crowd. But the surprises didn’t stop there.

After speaking about a “legend,” the headliner brought out Ciara, who performed a few songs including hits “Goodies” and “1, 2 Step.”

Baltimore rapper Rico Nasty preceded the headliner with hyped energy and heavy fan participation.

Rico Nasty performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Sept. 30, 2022.

Known for her flashy, fashion-forward style, the trendsetter didn’t disappoint. Clad in a short, black leather minidress, knee-high Doc Martens and waist-length braids, the diminutive MC accentuated her look with her characteristically avant-garde makeup and the occasional heavy metal hair toss.

Appearing solo on stage with the exception of her black-attired DJ situated behind a simple set of turntables, she more than made up for it with her personality and animated and engaging rapping style.

The audience followed Rico’s darting frame and staccato words popping out of her mouth like firecrackers. The crowd impressively echoed the lyrics word for word to popular songs like “Tia Tamera,” “Smack A B*tch” and “Rage.”

Between the opener and the headliner, the crowd sang an amazingly in-tune singalong to Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together.” Empowerment, inclusivity, diversity and acceptance were themes that were clearly showcased by the artists’ performances.

Follow Mel Bowman at Twitter.com/melmichel and Instagram.com/coco_michel_coco. Follow photographer Onome Uyovbievbo at Twitter.com/byonome and Instagram.com/by.onome.