Sean Kingston falls short
Disappointing, is how one fan described the much anticipated September 17 Sean Kingston show.
Sean Kingston in (not-so-live) action. (courtesy photo)
The show that took place at Amahoro stadium kicked off with a stage appearance from Dr. Claude and was followed by a few other equally celebrated curtain raisers.
Sean Kingston, who had crowds holding their breath, came on stage at 10.25 pm for an hour-long performance. Although it had raining, the VIP section had filled up and the anxiety in the stadium was palpable.
On stage with just a DJ, Kingston’s performance lacked gusto even though the crowds cheered him on and sang along with the lyrics. Tom Close, the winner of the Primus Guma Guma Super Stars which was the occasion for the concert, was a more entertaining performer, silencing critics who had thought him not worthy of the title.
Kingston who performed favourites like 911, Me Love, Face Drop, Dirty Love, Beautiful Girls and Shorty I Could Take You There, did not quite meet the expectations of his fans. His performance lacked the energy expected from an internationally recognised artiste and it didn’t help that he relied on playback rather than a live act – although Kingston apologized for this, saying he had just flown in and wouldn’t be able to give a good performance due to jetlag. Yet that didn’t convince all the fans.
“When I pay Frw 5,000 and go out in bad weather I expect more than just miming,” complained 27-year-old Ronald Gahonzire. “I had been looking forward to this show all month and was let down so much.”
Another fan, Beatrice Rubingisa, who had travelled from Butare for the show, expressed disapproval of the fact that promoters had promised a duet between Kingston and Tom Clause but did not deliver.
“I was really excited to hear the collaboration between one of our best singers and an international musician like Kingston, and wouldn’t have travelled that far had I known that there would be no such thing,” she said during the show.
It has to be noted, though, that the promise was that the Guma Guma winner would record a song with Kingston, and Tom Close promised that this will happen shortly. “I haven’t yet travelled to record the song and will do it later this month,” he said during a phone interview. Asked about his impression of Kingston, he said it was too early to tell and he wasn’t willing to say anything further on the matter.
Sean Kingston, who had promised a great show during the press conference earlier that day, was more disappointing on his knowledge of Rwanda, admitting that he had never heard of Rwandan music before. When one of the journalists asked an inappropriate question about what Sean Kingston would have done to stop the Genocide, he responded by saying he didn’t know what the Genocide was.
“I thought the question was really awkward and shouldn’t have been posed, but I was really embarrassed by and disappointed in Kingston for answering so dismissively about an event that shaped this country,” one colleague who preferred not to go on record said. “The least he could have done was fumble through an explanation or say he preferred not to answer that question.”
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Posted by Lulu Jemimah
on Sep 19 2011. Filed under Entertainment, Flash, Other News, Weekly Highlights.
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