Pregnant Alicia Keys takes a tumble onstage

London: Pregnant R&B star Alicia Keys gave fans a scare during her performance at the Essence Music Festival when she fell on her backside while on stage.

The `Empire State of Mind` hitmaker was one of the headliners at the annual three-day event in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, sharing the bill with superstars such as Janet Jackson and Mary J Blige, but she had concert-goers fearing for her and her unborn baby`s safety when she tumbled backwards and fell while singing `Love Is Blind`, Contactmusic reported. The fall prompted gasps from the crowd but Keys, who had been wearing stiletto heels, refused to let the mishap disrupt her show, climbing back to her feet and taking her place at the piano to continue the song. A source close to the star insists mother and baby were unharmed in the incident. The performance is one of the singer`s last scheduled shows before she takes maternity leave to prepare for the birth of her first child with her fiance, producer Swizz Beatz. PTI