Jamaica the envy of the world
Published:Monday | December 19, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
Miami, Florida:
As Celine Dion fans as far as Indonesia and Greece yearn for the artiste, Jamaica now seems the envy of the rest of the world.
As news broke that the Canadian, one of the best selling recording artistes of all time, was billed to hit the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival stage next January, fans immediately zeroed in on her website, commenting.
"Lucky you, those from Jamaica. Don't miss her but support her! I am sure everyone will love her. That fills me with hope that someday soon Celine will come to Greece for the first time to perform and be loved by us!" said Katerina.
Below her comment, Applebee from Indonesia's words for her favourite artiste were not lost, "I hope after that (Jamaica) Celine will perform in INDONESIA".
While it's unknown if Dion will take up the offers from these countries, one thing is for sure, the woman who wooed her audience with classics such as The Power of Love, Because You Loved Me, All By Myself, I'm Your Angel, the Grammy and Academy Award-winning classic, My Heart Will Go On, and her breakthrough chartbuster Where Does My Heart Beat Now, plans to be in Jamaica.
"I am looking forward to doing my very first show in the Caribbean and this is an honour for me to perform at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival. What a beautiful way to meet the people of Jamaica again. I just can't wait," she said in an email to chairman of Art of Music Productions' (AMP), Walter Elmore, recently.
Last Friday night, upon meeting Elmore in Miami Beach, Florida, Dion, her husband and manager, Rene Angelil, and her team, cemented their commitment.
"Her production team is amazing and has been working with my team to make sure that everything's in place. It is going to be an exceptional show," Elmore promised.
Several superstars
Scheduled to perform on the Friday night of the festival, which runs from January 26 to 28, 2012, Dion shares the spotlight with a dazzling line-up of top international, regional and local superstars, who have been announced for the three-day festival which takes place at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium.
This stellar group includes Cee-Lo Green, Nicole Henry, Heads of State, Jully Black, Earl Klugh, The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards, Destra, Gentleman; and Jamaica's finest musical talent, including Shaggy, Richie Stephens, John Holt, Yellow Man, Half Pint, Tessanne Chin and Tami Chynn, Marcia Griffiths, Lloyd Parkes and We The People Band, George Nooks, Luciano, Mykal Rose, AJ Brown, Freddy McGregor, Pluto Shervington, Etana, Chris Martin, Marcia Barrett (Boney M) and Byron Lee's Dragonaires.
In honour of Jamaica's 50th anniversary of Independence, the opening night of the festival is dedicated to all the rich sounds that have shaped Jamaica's music over the past 50 years, and so it will feature ska, rocksteady, dancehall and reggae, the island nation's influential contributions to world music.