How Chris Brown’s concert could have been better

American R-n-B and hip hop superstar Chris Brown was in Mombasa last weekend for what would have been the biggest concert in Kenya in recent years, with him as the first A-list star to hold a show in the country.

Considering that Kenyans have always complained that only washed-out stars whose careers peaked in the 90s — like rapper Eve, Ginuwine, Mya, Dru Hill and 112 who visited the country recently — Chris Brown was a breath of fresh air. A legitimate A-List artiste who still commands millions of followers with countless chart-topping hits.

Thousands of people were expected to show up at Nyali Golf Club for the Mombasa Rocks Festival. With opening acts by Nigeria’s Wizkid, Tanzania’s Alikiba and Vanessa Mdee, Kenya’s Nazizi and Uganda’s Navio, it was billed as the event that would set the bar for other international concerts.

Sadly, it was not. The general consensus was that the show was a flop, and a vindication of promoters who have brought washed-out but lively artistes. A show where the main act is paid a whopping Sh100 million should have tongues wagging weeks after his plane has left the country.

But it seems that many things did not go well. From the low turnout, lack of local artistes — save for Nazizi — on the line up, to the drama on who exactly was behind the show.

So what went wrong? According to Mombasa events organiser and director of Extreme Entertainment John Chacha, many factors contributed to the show’s dismal outcome.

“Fans were very excited to see Chris Brown but the turn-out wasn’t very good. There were less than 2,000 people there and the organisers were expecting a crowd of about 10,000 people. I think they missed the point on many key factors, like ticket sales and advertising,” he said.

Chacha says that had the organisers enlisted the help of major media sponsors, the event would have got more traction. And it would not have cost them so much, considering that the main act, Chris Brown, was paid Sh90 million.

“The promotion hype began only three weeks to the concert. For someone like Chris Brown, this should have started four months to the show. Chris Brown’s target market is people under 30; these are college children and they cannot afford Sh10,000 for a show,” he says.

Many took issue with the ticket prices, considering that they were to travel from Nairobi. The concert started off as a rumour and nobody came forward to address this until the star posted a video confirming it, just a week to the show. Still, many people were sceptical. The uncertainty and the price tag did not mix well; many opted to watch it on Instagram and Snapchat as posted by those who attended.

BIGGEST MISTAKE

“You have to keep in mind the revellers had to cater for their transport back and forth, food and accommodation,” Chacha adds.

Kiss 100 morning show presenter Shaffie Weru says although the turnout was not what the organisers expected, it was an overall entertaining show. “The turnout was bad but the good thing is he showed up and performed. Things could have been better and different, but I can’t fault Chris Brown. He is an entertainer, he is a great studio artiste but he is not Beyonce. He is not like Sauti Sol or those artistes who cherish their talent in live performances,” he said.

Shaffie says that unlike Wizkid, who rehearsed and performed with a live band, Brown did not. He came with a deejay, two dancers and a guy to control the lights while he was on stage.

“The low turnout could not have disappointed him,” he says. “He was paid and that’s what matters”.

But Chacha cites the high ticket price and believes that was the show’s biggest mistake. He says that if the target audience had been given more time to come up with the money, fans even from Eldoret would have showed up. He says the organisers would have done better if they had offered lower ticket prices to fill up the Nyali Golf Club.

Regular tickets were sold at Sh10,000 and VIP went for Sh20,000. VVIP tickets were going for Sh50,000.

Before he landed, social media was abuzz with jokes on the ludicrous concert prices. On Twitter, Kenyan Prince wrote: “A regular ticket to Chris Brown concert is 10k! I’m waiting for someone to start #SomeoneTellChrisBrown; while Chito Ndhlovu said: “The Chris Brown concert is only $100, which is 10K in the 254, which really doesn’t make it expensive... You just gotta sell a kidney or two.”

Is it possible that the star might have been disappointed when he stepped on stage only to find less than 2,000 people? He often performs for almost 10 times that number.

“An artiste of his calibre is used to big crowds. If you were there, on stage, it looked like there were about 800 people because people were scattered. In South Africa, he performed for about 25,000 fans, so this was very disappointing. If it’s true they are planning on bringing Nicki Minaj, they had better prepare well in advance,” says Chacha.

Advertising and ticket sales aside, many who attended the show complained of Brown’s performance, which they termed “tame” as he didn’t seem to giving it his all.

Like Shaffie, Chacha commends Wizkid. “He (Wizkid) killed the show, and had Sauti Sol been chosen to represent Kenya instead of Nazizi, they would have stolen the show,” he says.

This is not the first time that the American singer has been accused of shortchanging fans. Last year, according to South African publication News24 when he was in Johannesburg, a furious fan expressed displeasure at his performance.

“Oh my God! I have paid a fortune. My money has gone down the drain,” he said.

Another fan who is a songwriter and SA Music Award’s Best Male Artist nominee, Kabomo Vilakazi, took to Twitter to express his anger, saying Brown’s concert was the worst he had ever seen. “Miming is disrespectful... being bad at miming is... That Chris Brown took us for fools,” he said.

UNIMPRESSIVE CURTAIN RAISERS

But the Mombasa revellers were not only short-changed by Chris Brown, they also felt cheated by the curtain-raisers who lip-synced through their sets, letting play-back music do the work for them. Videos posted on YouTube attest to this fact.

Tanzanian pop star Vanessa Mdee might have been the biggest culprit. Although she nailed her dance routines, she struggled to sing live and was breathless throughout her act.

Even Alikiba, who on many occasions has performed live in Kenya to spectacular reviews, treated fans to lip-syncing acts when it came to songs like Single Boy and Mwana.

Besides the performances, what caught the attention of many people was a side show and standoff between Wizkid and Alikiba that threatened to ruin the night. In a show of might, Alikiba allegedly demanded to perform after Wizkid because, according to someone involved in the show, “he felt he was bigger than him.”

Nairobi News quoted a source saying; “Kiba felt he is bigger in Kenya than Wizkid, hence he could not understand why he was scheduled to perform before him.”

The Aje singer had his way and performed just before Chris Brown. But his troubles did not end there. During his performance of Mwana, Alikiba claimed that his microphone was “cut off”. He accused Sallam Sharaff, Diamond Platnumz’s manager who was backstage, of being behind the mishap.

But Sharaff told Buzz that Alikiba’s allegations were just a ploy to get publicity. “We all know that Diamond is big in Africa, we don’t have to keep repeating that. Alikiba knows that if he doesn’t mention Diamond, then he doesn’t get much attention. I was there for my own reasons, with Wizkid’s manager who is a good friend of mine. If he thinks he can attack us to get publicity, then that’s his business. But he needs to apologise to his fans because the show was not good at all,” he said.

While many would have wanted to remember the Mombasa Rocks Festival for great performances, and mainly for Chris Brown’s singing, many instead have sad memories of the disorganisation, bad VIP tent, and poorly attended show.