An endless commute of buses, trains and tiresome walking led fans to a secluded park in Springfield, Queens. A concert through the Central Park Summer Stage was showcasing singers Donell Jones and Olivia on July 27, 2011. Clouds covered the sky as everyone waited in anticipation for the main acts.
Olivia was an elegant belle as she glided across the stage. The crowd swooned with pure listening pleasure as her harmonious voice floated across the grounds. Passion sifted through the air with her tune “Can’t Walk Away.” The message was felt as heads moved back and forth in nostalgia of wonderful memories, yet confused times. Her powerful resonance vibrated throughout the concert shaking up a confident feeling of pain and emotion with her hit “December.” A melodious connection between an artist’s beautiful sound and the hopeful palates of the audience intertwined in a graceful entity of peace.
She’s the new girl on the block compared to veteran Donell Jones, but her reposeful voice is sure to stay. Fans adored her as the sexy siren in G-Unit and welcomed her back in this summer concert. They responded well connecting to the heartache and upbeat tunes of her songs. Her resonating sound spoke tumultuous waves of a genuine intonation that entertained the masses that night. Her elegant vigor and popularity from her show “Love & Hip-Hop” carried her fans to a new appreciation and acceptance of this starlet’s being.
The crowd lit up as Donell Jones confidently strode onto the stage in eager anticipation. But the moment swiftly became a sad scene to watch as Jones clung to his pristine voice while his fans easily heckled him. Die hard fans could be driven to tears listening to the master of smooth’s voice cut out like an old engine. A legend in the R&B circuit crashed and burned as he forgot words and struggled to regain the crowd’s attention. Mishaps with the sound mixed in with the closure to each song was the only joy gained from the restless masses.
The grooves that once pulsated through every boombox during the late 90’s and early 2000’s was a lost memory as the crowd watched this crooner fall. Magic almost lifted the hearts of many once upon a time with his majestic sounds. Yet, they were almost broken hearing the defeat in the singer’s voice. Experiencing the shipwreck of Jones performance was almost too much to bear. But, the more painstaking event of the night was the audience’s response. This man used to heal emotional wounds over a bad breakup, accelerate a night of passion between a loving couple and remind us of what we want the most within his velvety croons. “Where I Want to Be” was once the ringtone to our life and the answer to our deepest desires as we clung on to what mattered the most: our heart. But in this moment of weakness, instead of shouting cheers of encouragement to perform better, all they could was treat Jones like another amateur at the Apollo.
A night of blissful listening quickly turned into a fiasco of ungrateful jeering. Many have enjoyed an array of both artists’ music throughout the years. But these fans thirsted for pure entertainment enjoying the gentle swoons of Olivia and attacking the fateful croons of Jones. The love of a favorite artist wasn’t really in the atmosphere, but more of a desire for tasteful amusement.
The Heartbeat Life 