The “Five Star” edition of the annual concert was announced on November 20th as a climax to the “Five Star” world tour. After selling out venue after venue in the UK, Europe and the USA, King Promise thought it wise to bring the climax of the tour back home in Accra, Ghana.
What started out as a great promo for the concert which was scheduled for December 23rd would turn sour after a tiny incident, which in my opinion, could have been prevented. King Promise had failed to perform at the “Wizkid Live” show at the Accra Sports Stadium, and his written apology on social media caught the wrath of social media users. He was immediately “cancelled” and some social media users started a campaign to boycott Promiseland.
After days of berating King Promise on social media, he rendered another apology, this time on Hitz FM, hoping that all was forgiven and that his fans, whom he had disappointed, would buy tickets and turn up for the show.
However, the “Nungua boy” was going to be in for the shock of his life on Friday when two hours after the concert gates were open, there were no signs of a “sold out” show.
I arrived at the venue (La Palm Royal Beach Hotel) at around 9:30 pm. Promiseland was going to take place at the same venue where Black Sherif’s Mozama Disco was held. The concert grounds were being powered by UPPFEST. In my head, everything was already set up two nights before so there wouldn’t be any need for a re-setup. Hence, I was looking forward to an early start of the show.
I was, however, proved wrong when upon entering the event grounds, the stage for his performances was yet to be set up. Even though the seating arrangement for the VIP area and the general admission stands were still intact from Black Sherif’s concert, the stage was nowhere near built.
In my interaction with one of the ladies working in the VIP area, they had only taken off Black Sherif’s stage two nights ago on the evening of King Promise’s concert. The revelation was a shocker to me because I know how long it takes to set up the stage, and anyone preparing for an event should have started building the stage and everything else at least a day before or early in the morning. Well, that was not the case, the stage was still being worked on as patrons started trooping in for the concert. The whole scenario felt like the concert was an afterthought and not an event that had taken weeks to plan.
News about the scanty turnout and the stage not being ready had already travelled to social media, and trolls were having a field day with what they assumed was going to be a “flop.”Event MCs had to step in and keep the crowd engaged as the stage was being brought to life. After about 4 hours of waiting, the show officially kickstarted at exactly 1 am in the morning.
King Promise stepped onto the stage clad in red pants, a black leather jacket and his signature huge boots.
“I’m so sorry I took forever. We had a few unforeseen circumstances that were beyond my power, but by God’s power, we are here,” he apologized to fans before kickstarting the show.
Although fans had been waiting for a long to see him on stage, almost all the anger and angst went away as soon as he started churning out hit after hit. Let me tell you, the King Promise fans, especially the females, are hardcore and love their boy no matter what.
Although fans were promised performances by Gyakie, Joey B, Joeboy, Camidoh, Sarkodie and Darkovibez, there were some sweet surprise appearances.
Sarkodie’s entry on the Promiseland stage was one for the books and that performance of “Labadi” featuring King Promise is definitely something to look forward to again at “Rapperholic.” They call him the “Landlord” for a reason and he made sure his “tenants” were happy.
Mr Eazi one of the surprises of the night brought the building down with his new single, “Patek.” R2Bees, another surprise, basically sang acapella with a very engaging crowd, and fans would not let them get off the stage as they kept asking for more.
Nigeria’s AV was a delight, La Meme Gang stepped in and fans went crazy, as well as Quamina MP whose energy got fans roaring.
The curtains were officially drawn at about 3:30 am in the morning, and for a concert that showed no “promise” in the beginning, patrons who were patient enough were taken to the “Promiseland” in the end.
Will the events leading up to the concert be a big lesson to Legacy Life Entertainment? I hope so. Do I think Ghanaians are going to forgive King Promise for his misstep anytime soon? Yes, we are forgiving people. Do I think we are going to get a better-organised show next year? Probably not, but I do hope that the team takes their losses and turns them into wins next year.
