-crooner seduces, enchants Sunday morning Jamzone crowd
For too long we have imported performers that come over as pedestrian on stage and/or too lyrically weak to offer the kind of surreal entertainment this country hungers for, until Ne-Yo that is, and if anything the R&B crooner is incredibly gifted.
Who said the entertainment-starved among us cannot escape into a world where the music is as clean, positive and sweet as the performer? The gun violence and homophobic rants that often pass for entertainment hardly measure up to the titillating verses of a man who sings with serious depth and emotion, and dances as if compelled to when he is onstage.
Mavado, kindly step aside, Ne-Yo is the reason people should buy records (not bootlegs) and invest in a live performance: very few experiences are that good. Guyana got a taste of the Grammy-award winning singer, songwriter and producer early yesterday morning when he touched down at the national stadium to headline the Jamzone International night concert; and he sure did taste good.
His creamy vocals and rich catalogue of urban, up-tempo tunes some with a disco-like feel, forces you to shake a leg even if you are trying to figure out whether to embrace him or not. Some of the men present on Saturday night can testify; standing there fighting the urge to groove to the smooth sounds of Ne-Yo and succumbing ten minutes into his performance.
At the risk of sounding like a star-struck fan, I heard the first few words off the single, “Closer” and was unable to contain a fever-pitch scream (it got worse). His voice live was just as strong as on the record and the monster hit celebrates everything that is good about this guy.
From the flawless vocals and lusty lyrics to the groovy feel of an R&B genius; the single stands out as one of the best he has recorded in recent years. And there he was, crooning it with his eyes closed and licking those lips of his.
Without hesitation, I continued screaming, perhaps hurting my professional image a bit but the guy was singing to me and (every other woman in the stadium). Ne-Yo is so sleek and the fact that he appeals to women is no secret. He is eye-candy thanks to those boyish good looks and sexy lips, but it is his voice that is the real draw and maybe his moves too. He delivered “Closer” with a seductive groove and every woman with a good pair of eyes and sound hearing found him irresistible.
He refers to himself as a gentleman and yesterday morning he was dressed for the part; an all-white ensemble of trousers, shirt, vest, shoes and the signature hat tilted slightly on his head. I quickly realised that he was going to be romancing us (women) all night and simply gave up; I was ready to lose my voice, well leave it with him when the night had ended and I was stumbling out of the stadium a satisfied, voice-less woman.
Ne-Yo appeared on stage close to 1:30 am and served up a rich, sexy performance that was dominating and completely entertaining. From the brief moments when he paused to take in the love that was being thrown his way and also drink in the screams of devoted fans, he was in control and he knew it. There were the moments too when a smirk showed up on his face and as if coordinated, a sly smile always followed. As he belted out hits like “Because of you”, “So Sick”, “Mad” and “Miss Independent” the screams said it all: this guy was taking us to another level and we were prepared to go whenever he wanted to take us.
The words, “Ne-Yo baby!” and “Ne-Yooooooo!” frequently pierced the electric
atmosphere and the singer was well aware of how many women were feeling his performance.
At one point, he pulled out a bouquet of red roses and searched for deserving women to share them with; it appeared there were some deserving men too. The singer had reason to tell a male patron to give up a towel which he had used on stage to wipe off some sweat. “That ain’t for you, it’s for her”, he said pointing to a woman in the crowd.
Then things got a little crazy and as the singer was churning out the hit, “Beautiful Monster” from his upcoming album, a woman unhooked her bra and threw it onstage. Ne-Yo picked it up, looked at it briefly then tossed it aside.
I had a feeling someone was going to go further, but thankfully the puzzled look on his face sent the message that he was not about to entertain that kind of behaviour.
Ne-Yo even found time to toast his Guyanese fans on stage, drink in hand and all. He said the energy and the love people here showed him was enough to convince him to return, “This is not going to be last show in Guyana”, he said to deafening screams. He also took the time to acknowledge the presence of President Bharrat Jagdeo who turned out to watch the Grammy winner perform. Ne-Yo had paid a courtesy call on the President on Friday last.
Prior to Ne-Yo taking the stage, Guyanese songbird, Timeka Marshall (she was actually here) opened for him and she has grown a great deal. To many of us, Timeka will always be the sweet jingle singer we fell in love with several years ago, which makes it a bit difficult to connect with her edgier take on music these days. She even looked edgier and was channeling a Lady Gaga kind of look; appearing on stage in a black jacket and skin-tone one-piece swimsuit. “Timeka you look hot girl!” a fan shouted and maybe she heard because she started shaking her slim figure a bit harder.
Though she was good, her performance with local singer, Avalanche was better and this shows something about Timeka that is becoming more evident; she is a stronger singer when she collaborates. Her single, “Hush’ with Peetah Morgan of the Jamaican group, Morgan Heritage still remains one of her best singles to date.
Former Soca Monarch, Malo also appeared onstage with the Mingles Sound Machine earlier in the night and he is still the crazy, lovable and talented Malo we know. Singer, Jomo of X2 and the rising, Tenecia DeFreitas also performed to adulating fans.
By the time Ne-Yo exited the stage sometime close to 3 am yesterday morning he had delivered as expected and the pre-show hype about the “concert of all concerts” rang true. Not since Beres Hammond and Maxi Priest came to these shores and performed on the same night did a show feel that good. Ne-Yo had one up on both of them though; he can dance and the movements in his waist are enough to make a woman drool.
I did leave the stadium satisfied and voice-less as predicted but when again will we experience entertainment on that level? I suspect not for a really, really long time which means I had to live in the moment while it was unfolding. I wanted to shout, “Ne-Yooooooo! Ne-Yoooooooooo!” but you get the picture.
