Shaggy: A Lotta Lova for Manila

Reggae royalty Shaggy, alternately known as Mr. Boombastic and Mr. Lover Lover (pronounced as lo-va), snuck into Manila for a one-night gig on September 6, dubbed as ‘Up Close and Personal’ at Chaos Night Club at City of Dreams. It was a really intimate affair with a lot of room to dance around and get even closer to the stage to see Mr. Boombastic’s moves.

Shaggy1

Shaggy posted this photo with the caption, “Thank you Manila until next time!! Blessings!!”, on his official Facebook page a few hours after his concert at Chaos Night Club, City of Dreams

Shaggy, Orville Richard Burrel in real life, opened his Up Close and Personal concert with a string of his big hits‘Mr. Boombastic’, ‘Hey Sexy Lady’, ‘Angel’ and ‘Strength of a Woman’, much to the delight of the crowd. Interestingly, a number of millennials were seen having a good time on the dance floor. They may not have been that familiar with Shaggy’s early hits, though, since they could not really sing along to the lyrics, but they were high on the reggae mood, even more so when Shaggy sang ‘It Wasn’t Me’ with Rayvon.

During one part of the show, Shaggy (who was born in Kingston, Jamaica) asked the crowd to sing ‘Love Mi Jamaica’, along with him as he shows support to his home country’s football team’s World Cup-qualifying game against Nicaragua over the weekend. He and his back-up singers–Rayvon, Samira and Andre ‘GC’ Fennel—performed while waving bandannas printed with Jamaican flag.

Since he was in Manila, Shaggy also included some parts of Francis Magalona’s ‘Mga Kababayan Ko’ in one of the tracks he performed. He initially teased the crowd with the intro of Beyonce’s ‘New York’, then switched to Francis M’s rap, because as he said—he is in Manila, not New York. Shaggy and his band performed in Guam prior to the Manila gig.Shaggy4

Mr. Lover Lover turns up the heat on stage with his gorgeous back-up singer, Samira

Shaggy became hugely popular in the 1990s. His first hit was “Oh Carolina,” a remake of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers, which was in the soundtrack of the movie Sliver. Then came the monster hit “Boombastic” in 1995 that became even more popular when it was used by Levi’s as the tune for its commercial. His Boombastic album sold more than one million copies and earned for Shaggy the trophy for the Best Reggae Album in the 1996 Grammy Awards.

In 2000, Shaggy released the album Hot Shot, which was a certified Six-Time Platinum album in the United States. The popular singles “It Wasn’t Me and “Angel” were included in the album that hit the No. 1 spot on both the Billboard 200 and U.K. albums charts.

Shaggy6

Shaggy also performed ‘I Need Your Love’, a track from his latest album ‘Out of Many, One Music’. He describes it as a feel-good song with a Spanish, Middle Easter and Caribbean element. The YouTube video of the said single—a collaboration with producer Costi and featuring Mohombi and Australian singer Faydee—has hit over 18 million views since its release.

Up Close and Personal with Shaggy is a Steven Browstein Production, which is the same outfit behind American Idol finalist Jessica Sanchez’ Up Close and Personal concert.

Five Fast Facts About Shaggy:

1. He served in the Gulf War as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.
2. He has a charity organization. Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation raises money for the only full-service children’s hospital in the Caribbean, the Bustamante Hospital for Children.
3. He was called Shaggy because of his shaggy hair and dubbed Mr. Boombastic because of his unique, booming…well, boombastic voice.
4. He is in the liquor business. He partnered with the creator of Jagermeister to come up with ‘Coco Yak’ or coconut cognac.
5. He is currently working on his 13th record album. He joined the music industry in 1993.

Chaos, City of Dreams

https://www.facebook.com/CHAOS-Nightclub-at-City-of-Dreams-Manila-807493066016317/timeline/