Next Move: Alaine conquers East Africa, expands musical journey Image

by Contributed / Sep 11, 2013 10:43 am

The number of female artistes with chart success in the international Jamaican music industry has exploded over the past ten years but few have had as many #1 hits as songwriter musician Alaine. From her first #1 in 2006, Ordinary Love, Alaine continues to build bridges around the world with her music.

Alaine recently made her second successful trip to East Africa, this time performing in Kampala, Uganda for a sold out Pepsi sponsored show along with Konshens.  The Jamaicans rocked the Lugogo Cricket Oval as 45,000 lucky fans made it into the venue leaving another 10,000 patrons outside.

Opening for Konshens with a 90-minute performance that included her most popular songs in Africa, Alaine had the crowd eating out of her hand from the first note.  The artiste took the audience on a musical journey seamlessly fusing Reggae, Dancehall and R&B into an entertaining blend which had them dancing and singing along with every song.  By the time she sat down to play the keyboards and speak with her audience, Uganda was in love with Alaine.

 On the artiste's first visit to the African continent in 2010, she headlined the 12,000 person sold out Sepetuka concert in Nairobi, Kenya resulting in her receiving the Performance of the Year Award. At the time, her single You Are Me was voted Song of the Year at the Kingston 10 Reggae Awards in Kenya and the music video, directed by Ras Shac, remained at #1 on the MTV Base Africa dancehall charts for several weeks.

Now in addition to a string of #1 hits in Jamaican and US Reggae charts, Alaine has her hit #1 in Kenya with Wyre collaboration called Nakupenda Pia (Swahili for 'I Love You Too').  Kenyan artiste Wyre recently won the International Dancehall Award at the 32nd annual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA). 

The single produced by Dille for Love Child Records launched a video in mid-June and quickly gathered momentum in the Kenyan market with strong radio rotation and over 300,000 views on You Tube in three weeks. The single has been licensed by communication giant Samsung for their promotional campaign and added to Alaine's already significant popularity in the country.

Alaine also performed recently to record crowds on the 10th Anniversary Montreal International Reggae Festival sharing the stage with a stellar lineup of Jamaican artistes including Shaggy, Morgan Heritage, Coco Tea, Yellowman, Beenie Man, Freddie McGregor, Vegas and Tifa.

Alaine is also promoting her latest video Jah Is So Good To Me; the song was recorded on the Diamonds & Gold Riddim and released by DJ Frass Records.  This latest release joins the rotation of summer tracks from the songbird including Walking on Air and Lighters Up with I-Octane.

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