Four years ago, Simi dove into our hearts with her breakout single, Tiff – an ear soothing lovey-dovey record that saw her make an unabashed confession of being head over heels in love with a significant other. Her voice was angelic, her soul seemed pure and her display of vulnerability joined with her petite build quickly positioned her as the apple of everyone’s eyes.
Simi was viewed as the innocent little sister that we all wanted under our wings. Fast forward 2018, she has evolved in aesthetic, status and class whilst maintaining her charm and unquestionable musical prowess. With one song after another, she’s strengthened her voice and position as a musical force deserving of every honour, and ultimately became the sister that outgrew the expectation and perception of everyone.
Simi went from being dismissed and shut down on social media, to become a thought leader. From being bullied for her sense of style to becoming ‘style inspiration’ and from being called an alternative artiste, to topping billboard charts, dropping arguably the best album by a female artiste in years, headlining in the UK and blessing pop stars with her magic. To say her run in the past 365 days has been laudable is quite an understatement.
To step it up a notch and somewhat bring her banging year to a close, the singer announced a headline concert, ‘Simi Live In Lagos’ – a sequel to her 2017 ‘See Me Live’ which held at the Hard Rock cafe spot. Matching her status and complementing her growth, for 2018, Simi went for a concert venue, the 20,000 square feet Balmoral Convention Centre at Federal Palace Hotel that accommodates up to 1,500 people.
For an artiste her calibre, pulling out over a thousand people is a small feat and of course, people showed up en mass to have a good time and see her give everyone a run for their money. Sadly, what transpired at the very highly anticipated Simi Live 2018 was amongst most things, heartbreaking. In the words of a disappointed fan as shared on Twitter, “For everyone that I tried to convince to come for this show that didn’t come, you guys made the right decision. You saved time”.
The event was announced to kick off at 6 pm but by 9 pm, Simi was a no-show. Fans were left stranded at the venue as mic check was being conducted at quarter to nine. More harrowing, fans lamented poor treatment by security agents who reportedly handled regular ticket holders with disregard. See tweets below.
For an event that was supposed to start at 7pm
Gates opened at 8;15pm and unruly security shouting on people to step aside for VIP
Then 8:35pm we are still mic checking.
Disappointed much
— Olamide Is Here (@Lammyng) 9 December 2018
If Simi kept y’all waiting for 3 hours are you sure Wizkid will come at all?
— Buen Chico (@Monsiuer_T) 9 December 2018
Can simi come out already? Tomorrow is Monday o
— Full time goddess (@Bolanle_AA) 9 December 2018
At Simi Live. The show is yet to start at past 9pm. Isn’t this ridiculous? For a show that was meant to start at 6pm. Sound testing still going on. I am super disappointed.
— Mosquito Extractor (@Dotunk2000) 9 December 2018
I really love Simi but this is still very, sad, unfair and unfortunate. Perhaps it’s the fault of the organizers and not #Simi herself. And the way I’ve been looking forward to this show ehn. Currently 10:28pm and it’s still unknown acts we’re seeing. #similiveinlagos
— Tito Abumere (@eniolatito) 9 December 2018
Poor time management is something that is quite popularly synonymous with Africans and this, in fact, birthed the phrase; African time, implying that the African is never on time. Although this is a phenomenon that has been sadly displayed over time in the entertainment sector especially with regards to events, one did not expect to see it on display at a Simi concert. There have been suggestions that the shortcoming may be very well the fault of the organisers but of course, the face of the gathering takes the fall.
READ: One Africa Music Fest: The concept of African time is an embarrassment we all should be ashamed of
Simi, however, took the stage at about 10:30 pm, tendered an unreserved apology, and of course, did the magic!
Simi apologizes. We love you mama. pic.twitter.com/Ik6g2AvIZt
— el águila (@TheJiggvle) 9 December 2018
The post The “African Time” Phenomenon Almost Wrecked The Biggest Night Of Simi’s Career appeared first on Nigerian Entertainment Today.
by 208headlines
