Reggae royalty Shaggy, alternately known as Mr. Boombastic and Mr. Lover Lover (pronounced as lo-va), snuckย into Manila for a one-night gig on September 6, dubbed as โUp Close and Personalโ 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. Boombasticโs moves.
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 hitsโMr. Boombasticโ, โHey Sexy Ladyโ, โAngelโ and โStrength of a Womanโ, 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 Shaggyโs early hits, though, since they could notย really sing along toย the lyrics, but they were high on the reggae mood, even more so when Shaggy sang โIt Wasnโt Meโ with Rayvon.
Duringย one part of the show, Shaggy (who was born in Kingston, Jamaica) asked the crowd to sing โLove Mi Jamaica’, along with him as he shows support to his home countryโs football teamโs World Cup-qualifying game against Nicaragua over the weekend. He and his back-up singersโRayvon, Samira and Andre โGCโ Fennelโperformed while waving bandannas printed with Jamaican flag.
Sinceย he was in Manila, Shaggy also included some parts of Francis Magalonaโs โMga Kababayan Koโ in one of the tracks he performed. He initially teased the crowd with the intro of Beyonceโs โNew Yorkโ, then switched to Francis Mโs rap, because as he saidโhe is in Manila, not New York. Shaggy and his band performed in Guam prior to the Manila gig.
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 โOh Carolina,โ a remake of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers, which was in the soundtrack of the movie Sliver. Then came the monster hit โBoombasticโ in 1995 that became even more popular when it was used by Leviโs 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 โIt Wasnโt Me and โAngelโ were included in the album that hit the No. 1 spot on both the Billboard 200 and U.K. albums charts.
Shaggy also performed โI Need Your Loveโ, a track from his latest album โOut of Many, One Musicโ. He describes it as a feel-good song with a Spanish, Middle Easter and Caribbean element. The YouTube video of the said singleโa collaboration with producer Costi and featuring Mohombi and Australian singer Faydeeโhas 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 Sanchezโ 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 childrenโs 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, boomingโฆwell, boombastic voice.
4. He is in the liquor business. He partnered with the creator of Jagermeister to come up with โCoco Yakโ 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/