Shaggy, Rayvon
rock Moon Palace Jamaica Grande
IN LITTLE over a month, Moon Palace Jamaica Grande has unveiled another Jamaican superstar at its Ocho Rios resort in St Ann.
However, neither management nor the 1,000 guests who packed the hotel’s grand ballroom last Saturday night in anticipation of Grammy award-winning performer Orville ‘Shaggy’ Burrell expected the energy, electricity and awesomeness that reverberated in the room.
Renowned for his showmanship and incredibly entertaining stage performance, Shaggy laid out a musical red carpet after hitting the Moon Palace Jamaica Grande stage at 9:30 p.m. last Saturday night, delivering what can only be described as a stellar performance.
Shaggy, who said he was booked to perform at the resort a number of times but the dates were postponed due to unforeseen reasons, was exactly what Moon Palace needed to make its mark as the best in live entertainment at any resort on the island.
Shaggy’s concert comes weeks after another megastar, OMI, made his debut at the resort.
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In fact, Moon Palace has a reputation of carrying some of the biggest names in entertainment as part of its brand strategy.
“We have had acts like Usher and Ricky Martin because, as a group that operates five-star properties, our entertainment must also meet up to that standard,” Moon Palace Jamaica Grande’s public relations manager Cessie Cerrato told The Gleaner.
Shaggy, who introduced his sidekick, Rayvon, shortly after making his grand entrance in a strategically choreographed set, which saw him pull for the popular Boombastic early in the show. Suggestively removing a black cordless microphone from the front of his pants, Shaggy relived the lyrics of Mr Lover Lover as the females in the audience screamed in unison.
The magnetism and vigour that emanated from the performance literally caused the crowded room to eat his every word and obey his every command.
When he pulled for Oh Carolina, he had the fans effortlessly doing the ska and it was an obedient audience that shouted ‘New York’ when he instructed them.
Shaggy paid tribute to Damian Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock because it was the fitting thing to do, and sang the all-time favourite Strength of a Woman with Rayvon.
At one time during the master performance, the room seemed to have been transformed into a negro spiritual ritual, however, by the time he drew for the song that made the top 20 in the USA, I Need Your Love and Sexy Lady, it became even more apparent that the setting was a funky reggae party at one of Jamaica’s most fabulous resorts.
One hour and 15 minutes into his set, and Shaggy had to advise the audience that he was doing his last song for the night because it was evident they had no intention of allowing him to exit the stage.
Hungry for great music, thirsty for first-class entertainment, Shaggy and Rayvon gave the guests at Moon Palace Jamaica Grande much more than they had bargained for.