Guyanese were treated to a fine show by artiste Charmaine Blackman last Saturday night when she blew up Facebook with her live solo concert that saw some 41,000 viewers while it was live and has since seen views climb to more than 97,000.
Charmaine, from the comfort of her home went all out in her choices of songs, outfits, sleek golden backdrop, and exceptional videoing, all of which the singer said, any professional should not have to be told to do.
The current lockdown as a result of the pandemic has seen thousands of Guyanese restricted to their homes unable to socialize and enjoy going to concerts. Knowing that many persons are depressed because of the situation, the talented singer chose to do what she does best to lift the spirits of her fellow Guyanese.
“I was looking at a lot of lives on Facebook and I wasn’t pleased with what I was seeing,” she said. “I admired Lady Gaga when she did her live with the Pepsi-sponsored show where a lot of artistes were featured and I was looking at it and I said you know what, we can do better.” In preparation for her live Facebook concert, she sewed her backdrop and chose several outfits.
Charmaine then serenaded her audience with ten covers of international hits and three of her originals: “Follow Your Dreams,” “Blessed and Highly Favoured,” and “God Is Good.” The singer enthused that the show was better than she anticipated.
During the show, she did wardrobe changes to indicate the change in the different types of song featured, and credited her husband, who is also her producer and manager, Bonny Alves, for the idea.
Asked how she managed to pull off an hour and ten minutes show without taking much of a break, the seasoned performer said she drew on her experiences from the Yoruba Singers, Cannon Ball, Pete’s Caribbean Fusion, Majestics, and Midtown Chariot. Her most recent experience was with Midtown Chariot, and Charmaine said that while she was with this group, she performed three hours straight every Friday night.
“This is the time for people to do the things they have been wanting to do for a while. Use this time to do stuff, learn something. Spend time with your family, be spiritual, get closer to God, you should not be bored at this time,” said Charmaine who shared that she has used her time in the pandemic to record two albums, an original album titled ‘Follow Your Dreams’ and a cover album. Both albums have 12 songs each. The albums are slated to be released next month.
“I feel good. I feel very accomplished and I praise God. I’m happy that I was able to silence some of my critics…,” she added.
She also acknowledged other members of her team: Jasmine Wong, Michelle Playto, D-Anne Mannings, Rayann Benny, and DeAndrew Benny.
Already they are planning to do a similar concert featuring more of her original songs in July. She will be one of a number of singers featured on the Caribbean Voice Show tonight dubbed ‘Concert of Hope’ aired on Zoom and Facebook and come next week Charmaine will also be participating in the Independence Concert at the National Cultural Centre. At the Independence Concert there will be no physical audience, only those performing will be present. The show will be air live on NCN.
