She may be just three shows into her first-ever headlining tour, but Megan Thee Stallion looked all the part of a seasoned star onstage Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena.

Five years after breaking big with “Hot Girl Summer,” the Grammy-winning rapper has embarked on a transatlantic arena tour of that same name, with Detroit an early stop on the run.

A sellout crowd was there to greet the 29-year-old Houston hitmaker for what was a girls-night-out kind of affair, with many fans arriving at LCA in their own variations of the curvaceous body suits and flesh-baring monokinis Megan Thee Stallion would embrace onstage.

It was a night writhing with snake imagery, sexual bravado and near-nonstop booty shaking. The show was as much about Megan’s confident, assertive presence as it was her ever-growing repertoire of kinky hits — a salvo that started Saturday with her latest chart-topper, “Hiss,” and its barrage of cleverly barbed celebrity shade.

Joined by eight dancers who at one point joined the star for a synchronized twerking number, Megan Thee Stallion kept the pace upbeat and the downtime minimal. The only extended pause for breath came with a mid-show segment in which she invited groups of excited fans — her Hotties — onto the stage for their own personalized dancing exhibitions.

Amid the extravagant raunchiness that often bordered on camp, that was a touch of come-one, come-all togetherness and accessibility, much like the assorted selfies she snapped on audience members’ mobile phones throughout the night.

As a rapper, Megan Thee Stallion is formidable — she built a name via her electrifying freestyles, after all — and her rapid-fire rhymes accentuated songs such as “Sex Talk,” “Kitty Kat” and “Stalli.” Elsewhere, numbers like “Thot S—” rode high on catchy hooks, with the likes of “Big Ole Freak” becoming arena-wide chant-alongs and “BOA” serving up her distinctive brand of side-eye.

After reported technical glitches on the tour’s opening nights, Saturday’s mix was crisp and full, and the star’s mouth-twisting vowels and spicy wordplay were only occasionally lost in the sonic boom.

Megan Thee Stallion’s trademark, defiant swagger did give way to a little vulnerability with the recent single exploring her battles with depression, “Cobra,” which wrapped up the concert’s opening segment.

“Wanna Be,” with guest Glorilla, and the 2020 Cardi B smash “WAP” helped the show start a crescendo that finished with the biggest hit of Megan’s career, the Beyoncé-featuring “Savage.”

For all the night’s energy — and props to the likable Megan, that rarely flagged — the show threatened to become a monotonous affair, offering few variations in sound, movement or expression. At a crisp 85 minutes, it clocked out probably exactly when it needed to.

Rising rapper Glorilla had kicked off the evening with a 45-minute set of Memphis-fueled hip-hop and her own brand of self-empowerment.

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.

DETROIT, MICH (WXYZ) — The Motown Museum is welcoming the community to its annual Founder’s Day celebration from 12-5 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, 2024.

Community vendors, performances from Hitsville NEXT program participants and appearances by special guests will be highlights of Founder’s Day, which is a Motown Museum tradition. Entertainment on the museum’s immersive Rocket Plaza will culminate the day of celebration and give the local Detroit community the opportunity to experience the Motown magic together.

Founder’s Day is an annual, free and open to the public celebration hosted by Motown Museum in honor of Esther Gordy Edwards, Motown Museum’s late founder who made commemorating the Motown legacy in Detroit a reality for the world. The event will kick off the 2024 summer performance series on Rocket Plaza, which will be packed with captivating concerts and unique community gathering events that will make Rocket Plaza and Motown Museum the place to be for live music and outdoor entertainment in Detroit.

Two-for-one Motown Museum tours will also be available on Founder’s Day. Interested participants should plan to purchase Motown Museum tours through the box office on the day of the event. Motown Museum Campus Rocket Plaza (in front of Hitsville U.S.A.) is located at 2648 W. Grand Blvd., in Detroit, MI (48208).

For more information on Motown Museum, visit http://www.motownmuseum.org

When the Atlanta Hawks landed the top pick in the 2024 NBA Draft at the lottery last weekend, many assumed that they were officially headed toward a rebuild. With that, all eyes are now set on the star backcourt duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.

Even before Atlanta landed the No. 1 pick, there was a league-wide assumption that one of the two guards might get moved. If one or both are indeed available, the Detroit Pistons would be wise to inquire, as they could benefit from a big move.

The chances of the Pistons seeking out a trade for Trae Young seem slim, considering Cade Cunningham is in the picture as the team’s starting point guard for the future.

Perhaps, a pairing of Cunningham and Murray could be beneficial to Detroit.

Recently, Bleacher Report put together multiple mock trades that make sense for Atlanta’s top pick. In one of the hypothetical deals presented, there is a framework that shows the Pistons’ potential path to not only Murray — but the first pick as well.

In the mock deal, the Pistons would ship out Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, and the fifth-overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. For Atlanta, they move off of Murray, while going back four spots.

“Burning a chunk of cap space on this package shouldn’t bother Detroit, either. Murray is likely far better than anyone whom the Pistons can realistically sign, and this deal has them taking on under $15 million additional salary, leaving them plenty of maneuverability for both free agency and other trades.”

Whatever the Pistons have been doing clearly isn’t working. Is this a deal that would instantly turn Detroit into a contender? Probably not, but it would allow the Pistons to get a look at Cunningham sharing the court with an All-Star caliber player.

Before Murray landed in Atlanta, he averaged 21 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists with the San Antonio Spurs. His pairing alongside Trae Young wasn’t as great on the court as it was on paper, but he still maintained a high level of play.

Over the past two seasons, Murray averaged 22 points, five rebounds, and six assists. He knocked down 52 percent of his twos and drilled 36 percent of his threes on six attempts per game. Not only was Murray productive, but he was available for all but 12 games over his two-year run with the Hawks so far.

The Pistons have money to spend in free agency, but convincing an All-Star caliber player to join a 14-win squad would take a ton of effort, which would probably result in striking out. If the plan is for the Pistons to acquire a player near Murray’s tier, striking a trade might be their best bet.

It wouldn’t be easy for Detroit to cut ties with their homegrown prospects like Ivey and Thompson, but there’s always major risk involved in getting a blockbuster deal done. And the Pistons certainly don’t get any worse in this scenario.