Burger fans were left with their jaws dropping when American singing superstar Ashanti rocked up at late-night diner Archie's at Manchester Piccadilly - and started to dance. The flawless star, fresh from entertaining thousands of fans at the AO Arena on Thursday night, made a surprise appearance at the Manchester burger bar just before midnight.
Still wearing her stunning stage outfit of red bodysuit emblazoned with the British Union Jack flag and black thigh boots, she arrived at the all-pink diner with her backing dancers and crew. And stunned revellers watched on as Ashanti performed a dazzling dance routine that she uploaded onto her TikTok account.
R 'n' B icon Ashanti is in the midst of her world tour alongside fellow US stars Trey Songz and Mario. She has been in the UK for the past week entertaining thousands of fans with her huge anthems like Rock Wit U (Aw Baby) and Always on Time.
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She posted a series of photos, videos and boomerang videos on her Instagram stories inside the Archie's concept bar - which features a full-on pink adult ball pool inside. She also swung around on the large pink banana swing inside the diner, which features a neon wall saying "GRLS, GRLS, GRLS".
The American superstar was joined by her backing dancers who were all wearing matching red bodysuits and black thigh boots. Together they performed the stunning group dance inside the burger bar as diners whooped and cheered.
Ashanti had previously spoken about how excited she was to be back in the UK for her new tour. It kicked off in London before heading to Leeds, Birmingham and then the last night in Manchester.
"The tour is going to be super super crazy I'm so exciting. We are ending the tour in Manchester and you never know what is going to pop up.
"We are going to have an amazing time, it's going to be a movie. We are going to have such a party it's going to be so much fun."
Naturally, after doing her impressive dance routine, Ashanti couldn't resist sampling some of Archie's famous treats. She was snapped sipping on one of their milkshakes as she posed for photos showing off her sunglasses and her impressive extra-long manicure.
The burger bar is known for drawing a celebrity crowd, and has played host to all manner of superstars over the years. That includes singer Rita Ora, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr, rap star The Game and footballers including Riyad Mahrez.
It was something of a celebration for Ashanti, as the Manchester AO Arena gig was the last night of her UK tour. Some of her famous fans who had attended the gig also headed over to Archie's, including PrettyLittleThing fashion boss Umar Kamani with his model fiancee Nada Adelle and his mum Aisha.
Grammy-Award winning Ashanti was born in New York, and was first discovered as a teenager, singing on the chart-topping tracks What's Luv and Ja Rule's Always on Time in 2002. Later that year she went on to become the first female artist to occupy the number 1 and 2 slots at the same time on the Billboard charts.
She has gone on to record seven studio albums, as well as enjoying a successful acting career too. More recently her classic Rock Wit U was heavily sampled by Manchester's own Aitch in his single Baby - and he was a surprise guest at her AO Arena gig in the city on Thursday.
Archie's has become a huge success story for Manchester-based brothers the Rafiqs, who started it all with one small burger bar on Oxford Road back in 2010. It soon began to cause a stir in the city, and when rapper Nas headed in there to make his own milkshake in 2011, it started a trend for other visiting superstars to nip in and create their own blends for the menu.
In 2013 they secured a second site on Oxford Road, and from there it has been a story of rapid expansion with restaurants across the UK, a £1m flagship at the Trafford Centre and the concept store at Piccadilly Approach, next to the train station.
Last year they were named the fastest growing independent food business in the UK. They have continued their expansion with a huge unit at Manchester Airport, and have plans to take Archie's global too.
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