Shenseea Added To New York ‘Pride Island’ Lineup
Jamaican singer Shenseea has been added to the Pride Island lineup, being spearheaded by NYC Pride for June 25. The event is being hosted at Govenors Island, New York City, and will also feature trans headliner and German pop singer Kim Petras.
According to the LGBTQ organization, this will be the first fully in-person Pride Island staged in three years. “With our first ever trans headliner and our move to Governors Island, this will truly be a historic weekend in the history of Pride,” Lauren Cheeseborough, Pride Island Event Manager, said in a release. “The expansion of Pride Island to a 3-day event creates new experiences for the community to love and live their truth by dancing freely without fear of consequence.”
It was just last November that Spice was confirmed to headline Pride Toronto, which is also set to take place in June this year. The Queen of Dancehall had faced harsh criticism from the likes of popular Dancehall selector Foota Hype and Reggae artist Sizzla, who denounced her participation in the LGBTQ+ festival.
Pride Island’s events will kick off on Friday, June 24 with “Drag Island,” featuring Mo Heart and Kylie Sonique Love, who are former contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars. Kim Petras will close out the events on Sunday, June 26, with DJ Eddie Martinez, DJ Dani Tori, and DJ Alex Chapman.
On Saturday, June 25, Shenseea will join that day’s headliner, American rapper Lil Kim, along with Netta, Raye, and Papi Juice. The Blessed singer will perform at 2 PM.
In the meantime, the 25-year-old Can’t Anymore singer headlined the XoX concert in Canada on Friday night (April 29). She, however, had to cancel her other two shows for the weekend because of a voice box issue.
Prior to Friday’s concert, she had tweeted that she was unwell, but was determined to perform for her fans. “My voice is hurting 😭 but i’m still not cancelling my shows this weekend! 🤬”
My voice is hurting 😭 but i'm still not canceling my shows this weekend! 🤬
— Shenseea (@SHENYENG) April 27, 2022
The determination was short-lived after supporters were left disappointed Saturday afternoon when she announced the subsequent show cancellations.
“Sorry I couldn’t get to take mad pics last night but a big thank you to Canada for being so understanding and having my back last night,” she wrote on her Instagram story.
“Y’all knew my voice wasn’t well but y’all backed me up! ❤️ and as much as it pains me I now have to cancel my other 2 shows this weekend because my voice desperately needs rest…i will reschedule both shows at a later date.🙏🏽,” she said.
The scores of supporters who turned out to see the ShenYeng Princess at XoX were still satisfied with her set, based on reports from Twitter. “The way how you performed amazing last night who would’ve thought that something really happened to your voice???You did amazing❤️,” said one user.
https://twitter.com/_shenyengz_/status/1520431984148951040?s=21&t=puyjgzA6iLMRjydahr5wrg
“Seeing Shenseea perform Good Comfort and Foreplay made my night still 😭😭🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽,” another added.
https://twitter.com/ii_eshaa/status/1520304856384348160?s=21&t=puyjgzA6iLMRjydahr5wrg
Shenseea also showed off her Gold plaque for Blessed which appeared on her debut album Alpha. The song, which featured rapper Tyga, was certified by Music Canada earlier this month. Alpha is currently No. 8 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, after debuting at No. 2 in March.
“Thank you to everyone who listened and played!” she wrote in an Instagram caption.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc_JnHgOPZh/