Fans ‘show love’ for Shenseea at massive birthday party

Last Friday, fans turned up in their numbers to show love for Billboard-charting dancehall artiste Shenseea at her birthday celebration, which she promised would be “a party to remember”.

Two dedicated fans from Colorado who were vacationing in Montego Bay shared their reasons for turning up for the ‘Dancehall Princess’.

“We drove an hour and a half to get here because of the love for music, the love for connection, and most definitely the love for Shenseea,” Ez shared with a laugh. The excited tourist was on the island to celebrate her birthday, which she shares with Shenseea.

“I saw on Instagram that she’s [hosting] her party tonight, and I had to come, and I brought my best friend with me ... . I was, like, ‘Let’s do this. It’s my birthday’,” she said .

The event, which was hosted at Plantation Cove, St Ann, saw a turnout of more than 4,000 patrons, according to promoter Romeich Major.

Although the party was slated to kick-start at 8 p.m., it officially got under way minutes after 9 p.m. when the first set of patrons started slowly trickling in. However, there was a rapid increased of ‘Shen Yengs’ pouring into the venue after 11 p.m., and supporters were seen sipping on drinks or slowly rocking to the musical selections from DJ Black Boi.

At approximately 12:55 a.m., DJ Lollipop altered the atmosphere with a selection of uplifting songs, which got the now packed crowd singing on his every pause. The energy then quickly changed to a high-tempo dancehall vibe, with patrons bouncing along and singing along.

During the moment of frolicking and enjoyment, The Gleaner caught up with another ‘loyal’ fan, Barbadian Megan Edwards, who said that she joined in on the celebration because she wanted “to experience different things outside of soca.”

One of Shenseea’s Bermudian supporters, Precious Mundle, said that she had to book a flight because “it’s Shenseea ”.

“I love how she performs, and I’m now gonna see her in person for the first time. I always support her 100 per cent no matter what, and she’s hot – she’s fyah,” an ecstatic Mundle shared with a laugh.

The musical juggling, which continued for another two hours, came to a close when fans, growing weary of the music at minutes to three, were hyped up by the host ‘Wurl Fresh’ to chant “We want Shen”.

However, to their disappointment, the mic was handed over to resident deejay Bishop Escobar. Shortly after, the restless crowd irritably started chanting “We want Shen”, which prompted Escobar and organisers into action.

At about 3:15 a.m., the eager supporters were introduced to the ‘lady of the night’, Shenseea, which sent the wild crowd clamouring to the front and sides of the stage. Strutting on to the stage in red heels and a matching short, red tube-top dress, the artiste stepped out, spitting the lyrics of her hit track, Dolly. The now happy fans, screamed in unison when Shenseea greeted them saying, “Plantation Cove, waah gwaan?” .

Following a slew of her other popular singles, Shenseea introduced Ding Dong, and after his four-minute performance, the musical ‘Law Boss,’ Chronic Law, gave a cameo, followed by Stalk Ashley.

After an a cappella version of the track Hit and Run, at approximately 3:45 a.m., Shenseea closed the show with her Taurus Riley collab, Lighter.

Shenseea, who has not performed in Jamaica for years, told fans that she felt blessed to be sharing her first birthday celebration with her “day-ones”.

“Yuh know mi grow up in a Christian home, right, suh yuh know my people dem neva really keep no party fi mi, but here we are, and I wouldn’t have it any other way because mi a celebrate wid di people dem who really love mi and who mi really love,” Shenseea said.