Windhoek
It was a perfect throwback tune for a night filled with nostalgia, joy and surprises at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Friday, when renowned American R&B vocal sensation, Boys II Men, sang to ecstatic Namibian fans.
For those in attendance, the night could not have been better when the group wowed the crowd with countless old school jams from the 1990s, such as I’ll Make Love To You, End Of The Road and of course One Sweet Day.
The boy band capped the night with a twist of romance when its members dished out red roses to some fans, some of whom shed tears of joy over the gesture.
When the singers energetically jumped on stage the crowd’s response was overwhelming as the trio belted out their full vocal ranges and strutted their dance moves. As well as revisiting some of their early hits, they also branched out in recent years, coming up with some interesting remakes of their 2009 album “Love” – that would have been hard to imagine them tackling two decades ago.
Boyz II Men played to the stroke of midnight, ending with a soaring “End of the Road” and a cheerful “Motown Philly,” during which they encouraged the audience, most of whom were already on their feet and dancing along , to sway their arms in the air and sing along.
The group was so impressed with the turnout and the general response of the crowd that they promised to return to Namibia in the near future. The night was historic for some Namibian artists, who – for the first in their lives – had the honour to share the stage with the popular American vocal masters.
Sally, aka Boss Madam, opened the show by delivering some of her greatest hits, such as Rumbasha and Boss Madam. The Dogg was next on stage and sang some of his old songs, such as Baby Don’t Go, He He He and Mshasho, before he switched to his new house track, Nuka, which got the crowd into a dancing mood.
Reigning NAMAs Female Artist of the Year Oteya performed her well-loved songs Chipolopolo and Efimbo. Oteya and her dancers are known for their energetic moves, and they never disappoint.
Oteya said she was very happy to share the stage with Boys II Men since she grew up listening to their music. NAMAs Male Artist of the Year Lazarus Shiimi, aka Gazza, took the crowd back down memory lane delivering his old hit songs to massive applause.