THERE was honey aplenty.
And much like there are over 300 types of nectar sources from which bees cultivate their honey, the 16 ladies of the Honey Jam Barbados 2015 concert brought the vocal variety and did not hold back on the sweetness.
From a gospel rendition that spoke of meeting Jesus someday, to blinging hotlines and highly energetic performances, there was at least one drop of honey that would have been palatable with the taste buds.
Honey Jam alumni Nikita made her rounds at the fifth instalment of the all female platform. She closed the over two hour-long concert and did bad by herself, up until she was joined the 2015 artistes and founder Ebonnie Rowe.
Dawn-Mari Springer gave one of the best vocal performances of the night. Backed by her “colony” of ten backup singers, the 16-year-old commanded the audience to their feet after she sang I Could Only Imagine.
Mikki King also put in a memorable performance. King seemed to be in her element while performing Come As You Are by Nirvana. What she lacked in vocal ability she certainly made up for with a highly energetic performance with energetic dance moves to match.
It was also evident that when Kristen Walker oozed out the words “call me on my cellphone” that could have only meant one thing. Dressed in a denim top and strapped up stilettos, the young recording artiste stripped down Drake’s Hotline Bling in a way that allowed her sultry vocals to radiate.
With choreography similar to that of the Canadian singer, she eased through the song, which reverberated across the room of the Frank Collymore Hall.
Leigh Phillips seemed to enjoy her spotlight moment as she belted out notes to Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together and she was rewarded by loud crowd response.
Before a sold out crowd at the hall, Kamilah Ellis brought an air of confidence unlike any other. She strutted across the stage while singing the Sam Cooke original A Change Is Gonna Come in an uplifting jazzy fashion.
Next up was Jamie Leacock, who received loud crowd support. During her Love Is You rendition, she engaged in a harmonic dialogue with her saxophonist that created even a greater frenzy.
Dawn-Mari Springer during her uplifting gospel performance.
With a reported vocal range spanning three octaves, Hunnie Devon was divine. Draped in a gold ensemble, the vocal acrobat showed off her personality by actively engaging the audience while still managing to display her chops during Lie Under You.
On a night of filled with sensational and candy-coated vocals, originality was key to standing out.
And Valentine Meniaud brought just that while confidently singing the Nina Simone classic Feeling Good.
Quissa Baptiste’s performance of her original song The End Of Me was also noteworthy.
Zoe Armstrong seemed to be enraptured with each lyric of Gravity. From her introduction it was clear that the Sara Bareilles number would take her to another place and that it did.
Despite a technical glitch that delayed the start of her performance, Jenn Proverbs eventually found her groove as she sang her original Secrets.
Leashia Browne was recovering from an illness, but when she sang One Night Only the high-register singer proved neither song nor illness could prevent her from delivering.
Ashlene Rahman found comfort in her lower register while singing Jealous by Labrinth. Backed by a sole keyboardist, she gave a calming yet commendable performance.
Show opener Kathleen Cothran also was basically on stage by herself as she only had one keyboardist who backed her. Singing Out Here On My Own, she set the bar for what was to come.
Canadian Melissa Megan and winner of the Fly Me To Barbados contest also brought the country genre with her. She sweetened the mix by singing Stay by Sugarland.
