Left: Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds had no problem thrilling his eager fans. Right: Diana King turning up the heat during her performance.
Hundreds of women are probably still nursing sore throats today on account of all the screaming they did at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday night when a near-full house turned out to see Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds perform.
Following a solid set by the extremely talented Diana King, there was a protracted wait for the many patrons who turned out for the concert staged by United Way to raise funds for their projects and to raise awareness of the organisation here in Jamaica.
But the emotion behind the waiting wasn't so much annoyance as it was impatience on the part of the audience and that became clear from the second the talented singer, producer and songwriter walked onstage looking super cool, dressed in a dark suit, no tie, dark glasses and looking eternally young. The screams of delight that immediately erupted ceased for only brief moments during his more than hourlong performance of an endless stream of hit songs.
From the first notes of It's No Crime, screaming became part of the background as well as the waving of arms. Then as if to drive home the point about how he looked, he moved on to For The Cool In You. The incessant screaming heightened in pitch from the first strains of Never Keeping Secrets. By then grown men shed their inhibitions, gazed into their women's eyes and sang to them. Not to be outdone, the women sang back. Others pulled their companions close and began slow dancing. It was as if they were having their own private Babyface concert.
awe-struck patrons
Babyface is also a talented showman - as if he really needed to be. If he was singing the alphabet, the awe-struck patrons would have been just as happy to sing along; like they did for virtually every song he sang. But he also engaged them in banter about his days in school when he had a crush on his schoolteacher and intimated that if he and his teacher had managed 'to make music' back then, he might have been a totally different songwriter today. Everyone laughed.
He also revealed how while a member of the Deele and opening for DeBarge and Luther Vandross on tour, he would watch El DeBarge walk up to the piano and play the first notes of Love Me In A Special Way and how women reacted to the song. It was during those days that he decided, "I'd have to write me some songs."
And that he did. He wrote an incredible number of hits for a wide range of artistes. He performed some of those songs in a medley that had the audience giddy from nostalgia and excitement. Hits like The Deele's Two Occasions, Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel, Every Little Step, and Roni; Tevin Campbell's Can We Talk; Boyz II Men's End of the Road and I'll Make Love To You; Johnny Gill's My My My; and After 7's Ready or Not.
As he brought the medley to a close, he threw off his jacket and sprinted from the stage and into a throng of rabid fans gathered below. He returned shortly after, caught his breath, reached for a stool and his guitar and then sang When Can I See You Again, a song that, as expected, drew deep-throated screams.
As he wound down towards the end of an amazing night, he performed Change the World, a song that won him and Eric Clapton a couple of Grammys. It was one of the rare moments when there was relative quiet as people listened to the powerful words. They did sing along during the chorus, however.
He closed out his value-for-money set with Whip Appeal. By then, hundreds of people began streaming through the exits, their throats numb but with smiles plastered across their faces.
A section of the audience with all eyes focused onstage.
The Nomadz delivered a good set.
The Acropolis girls looked quite elegant in their attire as they graced the venue with their beautiful presence. - Winston Sill photos
