Jennifer Hudson, Beenie Man, Yazz close out the 2015 Reggae Sumfest

Reggae Sumfest 2015 closes with a bang

Jennifer Hudson was simply amazed at the love. Jamaica is really a place where there’s one love and now Hudson can say she has met a legion of fans who simply adore her. The Oscar and Grammy Award-winning artist sang to her heart’s and fan’s content on Saturday, July 18, the final show during Reggae Sumfest at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre.

She delivered a host of popular singles, “Gone,” “Where You At,” “Can’t Nobody Love You” and “It’s Your World.” One of the many highlights of her performance was she was joined onstage by Jamaica’s Allison Roberts, a fan who won the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to sing her latest single, ‘Spotlight.” Hudson closed covering “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” which she proclaims is the only reason why she was the celebrity she is. When she exited the stage, fans were screaming for more.

One act prior, FOX’s “Empire” star Bryshere Y. Gray (Hakeem Lyon) performed a number of songs. The young artist had so much swag and the screaming young ladies simply couldn’t get enough. When he performed his hit “Drip Drop,” the women rushed to the stage to get up-close-and-personal cell phone footage that will undoubtedly forever live in their cloud accounts and they were even taking selfie video and photos by turning their backs to the stage and capturing him in the background. They were quite disappointed when he invited a “fan” on the stage, who looked like an import, not one of the I-would-die-for-the-chance fans throughout the crowd.

Dancehall king Beenie Man, sporting velvet loafers bearing his first name, closed the show with a high-energy and humorous performance, saying catchphrases like “Take me now Holy Ghost, delivering hits like “Dude” and “Toy Friend.”

He was joined onstage by stomach-flashing artist Future Fambo for their single, “I’m Okay / Drinking Rum & Redbull,”

Still working on understanding Patois to lessen the mondegreens occurrences, but overall the festival, dubbed the greatest reggae show on earth, is one to tick off the bucket list.