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BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Hilarity and heartfelt tributes to mom

Nadanja Bailey’s fifth Annual Mother’s day Show drew a capacity crowd to the fabulous Harbour View Ball Room at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess this weekend.The show was a delight from start to finish, offering bucketloads of family entertainment and more laughs than you can shake a proverbial stick at!Several young singers were featured, with Amina, Angelis Hunt, and Reemah Webb-Hollis all representing themselves and their families very well.Many of Bermuda’s top female vocalists were also on hand to pay tribute to the island’s mothers.Celebrated gospel singer Toni Robinson opened the evening with a stirring rendition of “I Give You Praise,” and, later, reigning Bermuda Idol winner Latasha Codrington delivered an equally stirring version of the wonderful hymn “You Can Count on Me”.Throughout the show, the crowd was treated to several raffle draws, which made winners of quite a few lucky mothers, and added a nice touch to the proceedings.There were a few technical issues during the show, but each incident was handled with good humour and a razor sharp wit, especially by Mr Bailey himself.Indeed, there were many talented people who delivered stellar performances on Sunday evening, but Nadanja was easily the star of this show.But I digress; let’s talk about the other acts first shall we?Levette Fuentes caused quite a stir with her House infused rendition of her original song, “Saggin’ Pants,” and the inimitable Sia Spence was on hand to deliver another spectacular performance as well.Later on, Raymond Johnson delivered a highly entertaining version of the John Legend classic “Ordinary People,” and Olivia Hamilton performed a mesmerising rendition of Beyonce’s “Flaws and All”.Sandwiched in between Mr Johnson and Miss Hamilton was a virtuoso violin performance by Christopher Darrell.Mr Darrell drew oohs and aahs from the capacity crowd with consummate ease; delivering a decidedly impressive performance that included violin renditions of Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”.The show as a whole was good, offering solid performances and undeniably touching moments, but the best bits almost invariably featured Mr Bailey.Nadanja sang five songs on the night; injecting his own brand of comedic flair and measured hilarity.“For the Good Times” was his most polished performance, while “Strokin’” found him teasing an ex-teacher of his who happened to be in the audience to uproarious effect.Then there was the “Two Fools” skit, which featured fantastic performances from Jah Simmons and Nishanti Bailey as well.The skit itself is a classic (“How Not to Get a Job”), but the performances were as sharp and funny as ever!Nadanja stood out once again, drawing massive laughs from the crowd as the tempestuous Tiffany Simons; definitely a highlight of the evening!The show began to wind down at sometime around 10.30pm, and the male voices were allowed to shine during the last moments.Anthony delivered an emotional rendition of “Love Won’t Let Me Wait,” and Raymond Johnson, Jah Simmons, and Mr Bailey closed the show with a wonderful rendering of the Boys II Men masterwork “End of the Road”.The finale was nothing short of brilliant, offering great vocals, splendid performances, and laughs to boot!Before the finale, however, there was another moment of considerable note.This was when siblings Nadanja and Nishanti summoned their mother to the stage to serenade her in a very special and heartfelt performance.Perhaps the most touching moment of the entire evening was when Nadanja broke down into tears while trying to sing the chorus to Boys II Men’s “Mama,” and Nishanti, who was visibly surprised, spontaneously informed the audience: “He’s not joking!”It was a moment of absolute authenticity, and a very poignant tribute to one mother in particular, and all mothers in general.It was later revealed that this year’s show was on the verge of not happening.Well, I think this is a great local tradition at this stage, and we need to support the tremendously talented crew at Image Entertainment so that no one even imagines not doing this wonderful show ever again!Happy belated Mother’s Day ladies!