(Jamaica Gleaner) Buju Banton may be unable to make live appearances in the United States based on travel restrictions, but the latter has not hindered the Grammy-winning artiste from performing on several US television shows over the past few months. With the world still on lockdown because of the COVID-19 outbreak, virtual shows continue to dominate the entertainment scene, and Banton is one of the many artistes who have been making the most of the live-streaming platforms.
Back in April, the entertainer performed on BET’s virtual COVID-19 relief concert and on Tuesday, he was back before US audiences when he made his debut appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
In an interview with The Gleaner, the artiste’s long-time music producer and co-manager, Donovan Germain, expressed that while COVID-19 undoubtedly interrupted a lot of plans for many in the entertainment sector, it also handed artistes like Buju Banton the opportunity to connect with fans in countries they have been banned from entering. He explained that with television shows and huge concerts on the international circuit having to turn to online platforms, artistes who would have been unable to make appearances at physical events in these restricted countries can now do so via live streaming.
OPPORTUNITIES DESPITE RESTRICTIONS
“Out of adverse conditions come great opportunities, and I’m sure Buju and other artistes who are in a similar position as him who have had certain restrictions placed on them are happy they are able to make it onto mainstream TV in America,” said Germain. “They may be unable to take a plane and go to these countries physically but with these virtual performances, they can still make appearances on these international platforms and the world gets a unique opportunity to see them. That’s really is something to be proud of.”
Dubbing COVID-19 as a blessing in disguise for many in the music industry, Germain says online streaming has opened up a number of opportunities for Banton. He said the artiste will be making a number of appearances on several virtual shows on the US circuit in the coming months.
“We doing Billboard Live coming up, we have a show with Amazon coming up, and so there are a lot of doors opening up for him out of this whole online thing. We have to find a way to maintain relevance with every audience, and this is the new norm for the time being, and so we just have to accept it and appreciate the opportunities it brings,” he said, revealing that there will be an encore presentation of Banton’s performance on The Tonight Show.
“They were so impressed with his performance that they have agreed to show it again on the 26th of this month. We negotiated for one slot and we ended up with two because they’re going to replay his performance, which is great. He is a happy man.”
Banton performed his single The World Is Changing from his recently released album, Upside Down 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig6CYargL1g