It was a night of surprises, sensuality and standing ovations.Image Entertainment’s fourth annual Mother’s Day show featured the legendary Stylistics, as well as a slew of top-shelf Bermudian talent.The elegant Amphitheatre at the Fairmont Southampton filled to capacity early, allowing the show to begin promptly at 8pm.There was a tangible professionalism present throughout Sunday’s show; a refined sophistication that made the evening feel very special indeed.The show was opened by a blessing-in-song from Toni Robinson. Ms Robinson performed a breathtaking rendition of the classic ‘Amazing Grace’, and was rewarded by a standing ovation.Nadanja Bailey, the face of Image Entertainment, delivered laughs, tears, chills and thrills throughout the evening. Mr Bailey is a born entertainer, and every chance I get to see him in action, I have to wonder why he is not a full-time artist. Would somebody please get this man on a stage more regularly?Next up was a seven-year-old with a voice five times that size! Amina greeted the audience, confessed to being “very, very, very nervous” and proceeded to belt out a simply stunning rendition of the ‘Porgy and Bess’ standard ‘Summertime’. The crowd was thoroughly taken by the adorable crooner, and she fully earned every inch of the standing ovation they rewarded her with.After another massively entertaining set from Mr Bailey, Melissa Furbert delivered a powerful rendition of the Rose Royce / Mary J Blige hit ‘I’m Going Down’. By this time, this show had firmly positioned itself near the top of the list of the best live shows of 2012 in Bermuda.The final local act of the evening was Stevie Darrell. He was backed by no less than four singers, and a nine-piece musical maelstrom called the Wall Street Band. The Wall Street Band is comprised of all local musicians and performs under the musical direction of the incomparable Robert Edwards. This show, in fact, was teeming with world-class Bermudian talent, which became even clearer when the Wall Street Band later backed up the Stylistics, but I digress.Mr Darrell sang two pieces, but the real fireworks came when he powered through a pitch-perfect rendition of the Lenny Williams smash ‘I Love You’. It was a moment that was custom made for the popular phrase ‘absolutely fabulous!’Mr Bailey closed the first part of the show with an uproarious performance of the very suggestive Clarence Carter opus ‘Strokin’. There was a substantial need for cooling off during the intermission.The Stylistics took the stage at around 9.20pm. Their set was well over an hour long, filled-to-the-brim with instantly recognisable classics, and utterly enchanting.As smooth as ever, the charismatic quartet pumped out timeless masterpiece after timeless masterpiece. Standards like the seminal ‘You’re a Big Girl Now’ preceded the vulnerable ‘Stone in Love With You’ which morphed into the brilliant ‘Betcha by Golly Wow’ — and that was just the first medley!The onslaught continued with the lovely ‘Stop Look Listen’ the Carole King-penned masterwork ‘It’s Too Late’ and the simply gorgeous ‘You Are Everything’. The sheer scope and quality of this group’s catalogue was exhausting at times, and it became quite apparent this show was more than an experience, it was a privilege.I was prepared to pour acclaim upon this entire production like Niagra pours water into Lake Ontario, but it was not over! There was another medley, a stunning finale, and a magnificent encore still to come.‘Break Up to Make Up’ opened the last medley, followed closely by the communal ‘People Make the World Go Round’ and complemented by the cautionary ‘You’ll Never Get to Heaven if You Break My Heart’. It was getting to where all you could do is throw your hands up and shake your head; it was like stealing, this show was so good.After the foursome introduced themselves by name and shared a few quality moments with the audience, they brought the house down with the magnificent ‘You Make Me Feel Brand New’. The standing ovation was emphatic!They even snuck a timeless classic into the three-song encore. The sugar-cane-sweet ‘Let’s Put it All Together’ found the audience singing along for the umpteenth time that night. Another standing ovation ensued, capping off an explosively triumphant night for the Stylistics, Image Entertainment, Nadanja Bailey, the Wall Street Band, all the performers, technicians, and anyone else associated with this tour de force of a show; simply outstanding entertainment.If you were unlucky or unfortunate enough to be anywhere but inside the amphitheatre last Sunday night, please do yourself a favour and never miss an Image Entertainment Pre-Mother’s Day (or Mother’s Day) show again! Wow.